I Won't Let This Plane Go Down
by Atramea
Summary: [Sequel to "The Mall"] – Hanna and Caleb are now living their life together with their two-years son Liam. But they will soon have to face a few issues on their way... Will their love be strong enough to survive?
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: Hi guys! So I'm so happy I can FINALLY publish the sequel of "The Mall"! A lot of you asked me to do this sequel and I thought it was actually a good idea. I'm so happy about where this is headed and I'm so excited to share it with you. Don't worry, all my other stories will be updated ASAP, I promise... Just don't think I'm disappeared or someone kidnapped me, it's just that I'm in college and my free time is not enough to spoil you with frequent updates :( But I promise you that ALL of my projects will not be left unfinished :) I had this first chapter ready to be published, so I thought about publishing it to make happy all of you who were waiting for this sequel and also to remind you that I'm still here :D This sequel will be more focused on Caleb rather than Hanna and there will be A LOOOOOOOT of drama :P But remember, Haleb is ALWAYS endgame... I'm sure you won't be disappointed ;) _**

**_So... Hope you all will enjoy this ride as well! Let me know what you think! xx_**

**_-Title from the song "Up" by Olly Murs &amp; Demi Lovato_**

* * *

Hanna Marin climbed on bed next to her boyfriend Caleb Rivers, exhausted. It was five in the morning.

"Hey... He fell asleep?" he whispered hoarsely, turning to face Hanna.

"Yeah, finally. Why the hell doesn't he sleep at night? Emma was an angel at this age, Aria kept repeating that she could sleep at night all the way through, instead Liam is so freaking _hyperactive_."

"Did you just call our son _hyperactive_?" Caleb smiled.

"Yes, I think I did." Hanna muttered, rolling over giving her back at him.

Caleb spooned her and nuzzled his nose through her hair, moving then lower and starting to leave kisses down her neck. Then, he lowered the shoulder strap of her nightie and kissed down her shoulder and upper arm.

"Caleb..." Hanna whined.

"Mmh?"

"Stop. I'm tired, I want to sleep."

Caleb sighed deeply.

"Han..." he tried to press her.

"It's five in the morning and I spent the whole night trying to make _your_ son sleep. Can _I_ get some fucking sleep now?" she snapped, without turning to look at him.

Caleb sighed again and then rolled over, giving his back at Hanna as well and closing his eyes, waiting for the sleep to take him away.

He and Hanna had been together for a little more than four years, but things after Liam's birth, almost two years earlier, had become pretty complicated between them. He had had a promotion at work, so he spent most of his days in San Diego, still working with his sister and dad, while she was almost completely dedicated to Liam. When Caleb came back home, he wanted to enjoy some time with his girlfriend and son, but Hanna was always so tired and stressed to give him some kind of attentions. Caleb thought she was kinda mad at him for being home with them barely a few hours a day, but he couldn't do anything. His job was everything that could keep their little family up. Hanna was still a simple shop assistant, and what she earned was neither a quarter of what Caleb did. She had passed through some kind of depression after birth, too. After that, she didn't feel attractive anymore and despite Caleb's attempts to make her feel beautiful and desired, she didn't want to give him any intimacy. They had been having sex after Liam's birth, yeah, but it was happening very less often than before by now, and it wasn't exactly like the passionate sex they were used to have before Liam. Hanna seemed always distant and sometimes she just ended up asking Caleb if he was done so she could sleep. As if it wasn't enough, the time they were spending together was everyday less because of Caleb's work business.

Around half an hour later, Liam started whining again. Hanna snorted and tried to get out of bed, but Caleb stopped her.

"I'll go." he stated, getting up and walking to Liam's little room.

Hanna watched him walking out of their bedroom and soon her eyelids fell closed.

* * *

When she opened them again, it was around eight 'o clock in the morning. She rolled over and found one of the cutest things ever in front of her. Caleb was sleeping lying on his back, while right on his chest there was Liam, lying on his stomach, asleep as well. She smiled at that sight. She was very lucky and she forgot it too often.

It wasn't like she didn't love Caleb anymore. Absolutely not. She loved Caleb so much, with all herself. She was just bothered by the fact that he could hardly ever be home with her and Liam. She knew that he was doing that for them, to bring money for them home, but still, she didn't like at all not having him close often. Having Liam had definitely changed their lives. It wasn't easy to raise a child. It wasn't like she regretted having Liam either, of course, he was the most precious thing of her life, but she had realized that Liam's birth had stolen a lot of intimacy from Caleb and her. She wasn't blaming anyone for those things, neither Caleb nor Liam nor herself, but the truth was that she really wished she could have made her relationship with Caleb the same of two years or so before.

It was Sunday, so Caleb didn't have to work. Sunday was Hanna's favorite day, because it was the only day of the week in which she could actually enjoy some 'family time' since Caleb didn't have to work. She stayed looking at Caleb peacefully sleeping with Liam pressed on his chest until he opened his eyes, slowly.

"Hey." she whispered, smiling slightly.

"Hey." Caleb replied softly, smiling back at her.

"He looks really comfortable on there." Hanna continued, nodding toward Liam.

Caleb chuckled and rubbed softly his son's little cheek.

"Yeah, I think so. When I went to him a few hours ago, he couldn't calm down. He kept repeating he wanted you, so I just brought him here. He saw you sleeping, so I told him that we could have slept too, just like mommy. Only then, he gave in." he explained whispering, smiling at Hanna.

Hanna smile grew even more. She came closer to Caleb and Liam, resting her head on Caleb's shoulder and kissing the top of Liam's head, careful not to wake him up. Then, she wrapped her arm around Caleb's waist and nuzzled her head in the crook of his neck.

"I'm sorry about earlier." she murmured.

"Don't worry, babe. It's fine." he replied, putting an arm around her shoulder, still careful not to disturb Liam.

"No, it's not. I'm being a bitch with you just because you can't always be here. As if you have a choice. I don't have the right to treat you like that, so... I'm sorry."

Caleb kissed the top of her head.

"I'm sorry too. I wish I could spend more time with you two. Maybe I should just ask my dad if I can work a few hours less during the week... I mean, I'm his son, the boss' son. I can give a try." he continued.

"I don't want you to feel pressed, Caleb."

"You're not pressing me. I just want to be here more often. I want to see my son growing up."

Hanna smiled up at him.

"Well, if you're gonna ask your dad that, I'm not complaining, of course." she added.

Caleb chuckled and gave her a peck on the lips.

"How is work going, anyway?" Hanna asked.

Caleb sighed.

"Hectic, definitely. There's always a lot of stuff to do. Jess helps me most of the times, so I can come back home earlier, but I always end up being home late anyway. That's why I really think it's necessary for me to talk to my dad about this." he replied then.

Hanna didn't know Caleb's dad. Well, Caleb had made them meet, but she had only seen him a couple of times when she had gone to San Diego with Caleb. It wasn't like his dad came to Los Angeles to see his niece or nothing. Jess, instead, was coming to LA often, even with her and Caleb's mom. The two women loved Liam. Things between Jess and Hanna had eventually gotten better, even if it couldn't be said that they loved each other to pieces. Caleb's mom, instead, absolutely liked Hanna. And Hanna's mom liked Caleb as well.

"You know, sometimes I miss Caleb Rivers as the simple shop assistant of the electronic store upstairs with the cocky smile." Hanna murmured, running his fingers over Caleb's t-shirt.

Caleb smiled and sighed at the same time.

"We wouldn't earn so much if I was still a shop assistant, though." he said then.

Hanna sighed as well.

"Money's not the only thing that matters, Caleb." she replied.

"I know, but I want the best for you and Liam. You guys will never have to worry about anything or feel like something's missing."

"We miss you, though."

Caleb bit his lower lip.

"I told you, I'm gonna talk with my dad. That's everything I can do at the moment." he whispered. "Anyway, today's Sunday so I'm all for my beautiful girl and my little pumpkin. I don't wanna think about work today. How does it sound to you?"

"Sounds wonderful."

Caleb kissed Hanna's forehead first and then the top of Liam's head, smiling down at him. A couple of minutes of silent cuddling later, the kid lying against Caleb's chest started moving slightly, waking up.

"Hey... Little man?" Caleb whispered, stroking his brown hair softly.

Liam opened his green-blue eyes slowly, facing his dad.

"Daddy?" he whispered, with an adorable sleepy voice.

"Good morning." Caleb continued, smiling.

He then gently took him in his arms and placed him with his back on the mattress, in between himself and Hanna. Liam yawned and Hanna couldn't help but giggle.

"Good morning, little man. How did you sleep?" she whispered, stroking his hair as well.

"Good, mommy." he replied.

"Do you know you slept on top of daddy?" she continued.

Liam just repeated _'on top of daddy'_, laughing and excitedly clapping his little hands. Hanna and Caleb laughed along with him, occasionally tickling him and kissing him here and there. Those were the moments which Hanna loved with all her heart. And Caleb too, of course. They kept playing all together in bed for a little while, until Caleb decided to take a shower. Hanna stayed with Liam in bed a little longer.

"What about we're gonna make breakfast for us and daddy, bud?" Hanna asked her son then.

"Yay! Bwekfast!" was his reply.

Hanna smiled at him and was about to get up when Caleb's mobile beeped on the nightstand. Caleb wasn't leaving it around either for a second, lately. Hanna didn't mind though, because she trusted him. Anyway, she instinctively glanced at it. On the display it appeared a text from a certain Brenda.

_Hey, Caleb:) What about tomorrow night? I hope your girlfriend isn't going to get suspicious!_

Hanna froze. She didn't know any Brenda. Then why this bitch was texting Caleb with emoticons? But most of all, why was she hoping that Hanna wasn't going to get suspicious? _Suspicious_?

Was Caleb cheating on her? Maybe because sex between them wasn't exactly going great lately? Or maybe just because he got tired of her? But how could he? They had a child together!

"Mommy? Bwekfast?" Liam repeated, tugging at his mother's arm.

Hanna shook all the bad thoughts away when she saw her son's eyes.

"Yeah, sweetie. Breakfast. Let's go." she said, picking him up.

* * *

Hanna and Liam made pancakes. Well, Hanna made pancakes. Liam just sat on the counter watching her and clapping his little hands. Caleb went downstairs a little later, with just a towel wrapped around his waist, the hair still damp and the mobile in his hand. Hanna looked up at him and bit her lower lip seeing he was typing on his iPhone, probably replying to that Brenda's text.

"Daddy! Pancakes!" Liam squealed.

Caleb finished typing before looking up at his son and smiling.

"Good job, buddy!" he said, placing his mobile on the table, but carefully lying the screen side against it not to show the display.

Then, he walked to Liam and picked him up between his arms.

"Everything okay?" Hanna asked, while finishing to cook the last pancakes.

Caleb took a deep breath and kissed her temple.

"Yeah, just...work stuff. I'll have to work late tomorrow, unfortunately. I don't know if I'll be able to be home for dinner. But I promise that Tuesday I'm not working at all... It's _someone_'s birthday and I can't miss it." he murmured then, eventually tickling Liam's tummy.

Hanna sighed.

_Work stuff_.

Of course, the usual lame excuse.

"Whose birthday is Tuesday, little man?" Caleb laughed at Liam.

"Liam's birthday!" he replied then.

"Who's Liam? I don't know anyone named Liam!" Caleb joked.

"That's me, daddy!" Liam squealed then, laughing loudly.

"Oh... Right. And you are turning...? I forgot!" Caleb continued joking.

"Two!" Liam exclaimed, raising two little fingers to show his age.

"Oh, boy, my little man's becoming a big man!" Caleb commented, spinning his son around.

The two boys kept laughing but Hanna couldn't stop thinking about that text. She couldn't believe Caleb was cheating on her. She thought it couldn't be true, but he was clearly hiding something from her, that was obvious.


	2. Chapter 2

They ate all together, then Hanna made the dishes while Caleb and Liam played with the Legos. Around an hour later, Liam started being a little nervous, so Hanna cuddled with him on the couch until he fell asleep on her lap. He hadn't slept so much that last night, he was in clearly need of sleep. When he was asleep, Hanna carried him in his room and tucked him in under the blankets. Then, she returned to the living room, where Caleb was sprawled on the couch with his phone, texting. _Again_.

"Work?" Hanna asked, taking a seat next to him.

Caleb nodded, not even looking at her, still focused on his mobile.

"You said today you were gonna be only for me and Liam, though." she continued.

Caleb sighed and then placed his mobile on the coffee table, but again with the screen side against the wood.

"I'm sorry. You're right. Come here..." he whispered then, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her on the couch until she was sitting on his lap.

Hanna wrapped her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes, trying to detect some guiltiness signal. He wrapped his arms around her waist and smiled up at her.

"What's wrong?" he asked then, noticing her mood.

Hanna pursed her lips.

"I don't know. Is there something wrong, Caleb?" she replied.

"What do you mean?" he furrowed his eyebrows.

Hanna looked away, but Caleb turned her head toward him again with his index.

"Han... Are you still mad at me because of work? I swear, I'm gonna talk to my dad tomorrow. We'll figure something out." he continued.

"It's not _just_ about that."

"Okay, then what is this about?"

Hanna took a deep breath, but stayed silent and looked down. Caleb placed a strand of her hair between her left ear, slowly. She was still sitting on his lap, even though she looked a thousand miles far away.

"Hanna, talk to me." he whispered then.

"Do you still love me?" Hanna blurted out then, staring into his deep brown eyes.

Caleb raised his eyebrows and his mouth fell open at that question. He blinked a few times before replying.

"Hey... Why would you ask me that?"

"You didn't answer."

Caleb leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.

"Of course I do. I love you so much, Han. And I feel awful at the thought that you're not sure about that." he whispered then, his mouth still close to hers.

Hanna bit her lower lip and kept looking into his eyes, not saying anything.

"Am I giving you any reason to make you think that I don't love you anymore?" he asked then.

Hanna shook her head.

"I got it. I have to be more present with you and Liam. But I thought we already discussed that this morning. Anyway, I promise, babe. I promise I will. Okay?" he said.

"Well, then... Do you really have to work late tomorrow?" she asked, pursing her lips.

Caleb swallowed and sighed before answering.

"Tomorrow's too important, Han. Believe me. I really can't call it off."

Hanna shook her head and got up from Caleb's lap.

"Where are you going?" Caleb asked.

"I'm tired. I think I'm gonna take a nap." she muttered, moving to their bedroom.

Caleb sighed and threw his head against the couch cushions. Hanna asked him if he still loved her had made him feel like shit.

* * *

Ten minutes or something later, Caleb entered his and Hanna's bedroom carrying a cup of hot chocolate. He sat on the bed, where Hanna was lying on her stomach with her head turned away from him. He softly placed his hand on her lower back, rubbing circles with his fingers.

"Hey." he whispered gently.

"What do you want?" she snapped, without turning around.

"Nothing. I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I am. I'm just tired."

"I brought you a chocolate."

"You didn't have to."

Caleb just placed the cup on the nightstand.

"Han... Do you have to tell me something?" he breathed out.

Only then, Hanna turned around and sat crossed-legs on the bed, facing Caleb.

"Are you cheating on me?" she finally blurted out, with teary eyes.

"What?" Caleb asked back, shocked.

"Just answer!" Hanna yelled.

"Okay, this is too much. First you think that I don't love you anymore, now that I'm cheating on you... Do you really think I could do something like that?"

"I don't know, Caleb. I see you like two hours a day, if I'm lucky. I feel like you're pushing me away!"

"Am I pushing you away? Seriously? You're the one who shakes my hands off you when I try to touch you at night!"

"So this is the reason why you found someone else to fool around? Because you can't fuck me everytime you want to? Because your stupid girlfriend is always tired because your son doesn't want to sleep knowing that his daddy is finally home and he'd rather play with him instead of sleep?"

"Dammit, Hanna, I'm just working for you two!"

"Just working? Really? Then why you hide your mobile phone? Well, actually, I know why! Because there are bitches who text you on Sunday morning asking if your girlfriend is getting suspicious!"

"What are you talking about now?"

"Nothing. I'm talking about nothing. I'm just crazy, right? You're the one who works hard for his family, while I'm just a stupid jealous shop assistant who brings home just a few dollars."

Caleb remained silent, watching the tears streaming down Hanna's face.

"You read something on my phone, didn't you?" he murmured.

Hanna wiped her tears away and nodded.

"I never did anything like that, because I trust you. Well, I _trusted_ you. But your phone was on the nightstand this morning, while you were in the shower. I guess you forgot it. It just beeped and I looked at it. It was spontaneous. There was this Brenda's text who asked you if you were in for tomorrow night, hoping that your girlfriend wasn't suspicious." she murmured, angry but with tiredness in her voice.

Tiredness of _fighting_. Of their _lack of communication_.

Caleb nodded and looked down.

"So you just thought I was cheating on you?" he murmured.

Hanna didn't speak.

"You didn't think about another explication, right?" Caleb asked.

Still silence. Caleb sighed and threw his mobile on the mattress.

"I would _never_ cheat on you. Check my phone. You'll find out why I was hiding it from you. You'll find out why I needed to meet Brenda. You'll find out why tomorrow night was so important. You'll find out the whole truth. Oh, and since you don't trust me anymore, so maybe you're gonna think I deleted or modified the texts while I was alone, well, give Aria a call. She knew everything that was going on, and she was supposed to meet Brenda with me tomorrow. Along with Jess and your coworker Laura. It was supposed to be a surprise, a good one, but I guess that's not gonna be anymore." he shouted, angry.

Hanna remained silent, looking down at his mobile. Then, Liam started crying from the other room, probably woken up by his parents' loud fight.

"I'll think about him. Oh, and drink that. It's probably getting cold." Caleb added, nodding toward the hot chocolate cup before exiting the bedroom.

Hanna watched him walking away, biting her lip.

* * *

Hanna stayed in bedroom while Caleb in the living room until it was lunch time. They didn't talk until she showed up there while Caleb was cooking for both of them. She had his mobile in her hand. Caleb turned to her for a second without saying anything and then returned to look at his pan.

"I didn't check it." she murmured, feeling guilty, placing the mobile on the table.

"You should have, I have nothing bad to hide. I just wanted to surprise you."

Hanna sighed and walked to him until she could wrap her arms around his waist and place her head against his back, while Caleb kept cooking.

"I'm so sorry." she whispered.

"I am too. But if you really don't trust me anymore, then I guess we have a problem." he replied without turning around.

"I was just angry, I don't actually think those things about you."

"Are you sure? We don't talk anymore, Hanna. And when we do, we just fight. We've only been fighting lately, that's the truth. Maybe the only thing which still keeps us together is Liam."

Hanna unwrapped her arms from his waist and sighed. Caleb stopped cooking and finally turned around, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Do you really think that?" Hanna asked.

Caleb shrugged.

"You tell me. Is Liam the only reason why you're still with me?" he asked back.

"No." Hanna replied softly, feeling tears forming in her eyes again.

Caleb pursed his lips and looked at the floor, silent.

"Caleb, I love you." Hanna added.

Caleb looked up at her and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Brenda is a jeweler. I've known her for a long time, she's one of Jess' bestfriends. I needed to see her tomorrow because I wanted to buy a ring. I... I wanted to ask you to marry me. And I wanted to do it on Tuesday during Liam's birthday party, so everyone special for us was going to be there. I asked Aria and Laura to come with me and Jess tomorrow night, so they could have helped me to choose the best ring for you, being friends of yours and being women. That's why I couldn't tell you anything. I wanted to make you a surprise. And that's why I absolutely couldn't call tomorrow dinner off. I needed to have the ring before Tuesday, before the party. I wanted to ask you to be my wife, to be with me for the rest of our lives, because I feel I'm wasting a lot of time with work, I... I just wanted to show you that you're my priority, you and Liam, I wanted to make you understand that even if I work for most of my day, I'm doing that for you two, and my heart's always here with you, because you are the most important people of my life, and... And I love you so much."

Caleb was almost sobbing by the end of his speech. He had tears in his eyes and looked hurt. Hanna bit hard on her lower lip and wiped her own tears, stepping closer to Caleb.

"I'm so sorry. I screwed everything up. I'm such an idiot. I shouldn't have thought and said those things, Caleb... I'm really sorry." she mumbled.

Caleb swallowed and tried his best to hold his tears back.

"No, you know what? Maybe you were right. Maybe I deserve each of them. You're right, I'm only here on Sundays, practically. What kind of father am I to Liam? What kind of husband could I be to you? If you're at the point of thinking that I'm cheating on you, well, the fault is only mine. I'm neglecting you and Liam. And I can't just think that proposing may make things better." he murmured.

"Caleb, no... You're an amazing dad. Liam loves you more than you could even imagine. It's me the one who should have never doubted on you. And... I feel like shit because you were gonna do a wondeful thing on Tuesday and I just ruined everything because of my stupid jealousy. I would love to marry you and I would be really pride of you as my husband. Please, forgive me."

Hanna sniffed and wiped her tears away before grabbing both of Caleb's hands. He slowly looked into her eyes, still holding his tears back.

"Hanna... You have to be honest. Do you trust me? Because if you really don't, well... I don't know if we're doing the right thing being still together." he replied, serious.

"I trust you... And I love you." she sobbed.

"It would be like that if we didn't have Liam too?"

Hanna nodded, as a few tears more streamed down her cheeks.

"So we don't have any problem?" Caleb demanded.

Hanna shook her head quickly before throwing herself into Caleb's arms. She started crying hard against his shirt, as he slowly wrapped an arm around her waist and the other around her shoulders, stroking her hair. He still felt like something was wrong, though. They clearly had a problem, he couldn't deny that they had pushed each other away day by day lately, maybe unconsciously, maybe not wanting it, but they had, both of them, he knew it, and he was pretty sure she knew it too. They wouldn't have been in that situation if there weren't problems between them.

Hanna looked up and blinked a couple of times, letting go a few other tears. Caleb wiped them with his thumbs and kept looking at her silent. He had been able not to cry, but Hanna knew he had been right on the edge. She felt awful knowing that he wanted to propose and that now everything was messed up only for her fault. She gripped his shirt in her fists and crashed her lips to his, kissing him hard as she hadn't done in a while. Caleb kissed back, pushing her head closer by the back of her neck. Hanna slipped her tongue into his mouth and kept showing her love for him.

"Forgive me." she repeated when they pulled away.

Caleb didn't reply at that, he just sighed and walked away, upstairs.

A tear escaped from Hanna's left eye.

They had kissed, yeah, but that absolutely wasn't going to fix their issues. Because they did have issues. And she knew it. She had understood it.

He was right. They had a problem.

She wiped her tear away and walked to Liam's room, finding him still peacefully asleep. He couldn't even imagine what was going on between his dad and mom, how their relationship was slowly falling apart. What hurt Hanna the most was the fact that she knew that something was wrong, she had known it for a long time, but she just pushed it away because she didn't want to believe it. But that day had definitely been the breaking point, the confirmation of everything. She made a little sad smile to Liam before closing the door and walking back to the living room.

Caleb wasn't there.

Then, she glanced at the balcony and saw him smoke outside. Caleb was with his back at Hanna, so he couldn't see her, but she could see him. He took his mobile phone from his pocket and dialed some number, then put it near his ear.

"Brenda? Hey, just wanted to tell you that there's no need for us to meet tomorrow night." he said through the speaker.

Hanna pursed her lips and waited to hear if he was gonna say more. A few seconds later, he spoke again.

"No, look... Let's just say that I don't need the ring anymore. Leave it like that. Thank you, bye."

Then, he just closed the call.

When he came back inside, he didn't look at Hanna. He just came back to cook, and Hanna got up from the couch only when she heard that Liam had woken up. The three of them had an awkward lunch together, then Hanna made the dishes while Caleb went to Liam's room with him to play and then try to make him sleep. Caleb didn't get out of the little guy's room for hours, and when Hanna decided to go checking, she saw Liam sleeping on his bed and Caleb lying next to him, but he was awake. He was just watching him and softly rubbing his face. Hanna got out of the room and went to their bedroom, putting some clothes on and then exiting the house and hopping in her car.

She needed to talk with someone.

* * *

**A/N: Hi everyone :) So, yeah, obviously Caleb wasn't cheating on Hanna! Now, I know that things are not going the best for them at the moment, but you guys just have to be a little patient... I just thought about starting this story in a different way than the classic lovey-dovey family... Anyway, don't worry, I'm sure you will appreciate the whole plot ;) The story is just started, you still have to see how much drama there's gonna be :D Thank you so much for your amazing reviews! You guys are the best :) I really hope you will like this sequel as much as you liked "The Mall" :) So, again, thank you so much for the reviews/follows/favorites! Can't wait to know your thoughts about this chapter :) I'll update soon! Have a nice day everyone! Love! xx -Atramea.**


	3. Chapter 3

Hanna arrived to Aria Fitz's house completely upset. Aria opened the door and Hanna threw herself into her arms, crying. Aria didn't ask anything, just led her inside and sat on the couch. When Hanna calmed down a little, she started talking.

"Caleb was gonna propose and I screwed everything up."

Aria furrowed her eyebrows.

"Yeah, I knew he wanted to propose... What happened?" she asked.

Hanna wiped her tears away and took a deep breath.

"I just... His phone beeped this morning, and I read a text from someone named Brenda who told him if tomorrow night he could see her, and she told him she hoped that I wasn't suspicious, so I thought... I was an idiot..." she sobbed.

"Oh, Hanna... Brenda is a jeweler, Caleb needed to meet her to choose the ring for you... I was supposed to go with him too..."

"I know... I asked him if he was cheating on me, so we had a bad fight, and then he told me the whole story... I feel like shit, I doubted on him... It's just that he's never home, and things between us are sort of bad lately, and... I thought he had found someone else..."

"Caleb loves you, Han."

"I know, and I love him too, but now..."

"What happened after your fight?"

"Uhm... I cried a lot, and he was about to cry too, then I hugged him, and then... We kissed..."

Aria motioned a smile.

"Well, so you guys made up?" she asked.

Hanna restarted crying, harder. Aria was confused, but she just grabbed and held her hands in her own.

"We haven't made up at all. I think... I-I think we kind of broke up." Hanna sobbed.

"Are you serious?"

"We didn't talk after the kiss. Not a word. He just walked away, he probably went upstairs, in our bedroom. So I just went to check if Liam was okay, and when I came back to the living room I saw Caleb smoking on the balcony, and he was at the phone with Brenda, telling her that tomorrow dinner was cancelled. Liam woke up shortly after, so we just had lunch, and it was an awful lunch 'cause Liam was the only one talking and smiling... Then I made the dishes and Caleb went with Liam to his room to make him sleep. He never got out of the room. Right now Liam is asleep, and Caleb is just by his side watching him, because he doesn't want to be alone with me. So... I just put on some decent clothes and came here. I messed everything up, didn't I, Aria?"

Aria sighed and hugged her friend tight.

"You can stay here as long as you want to, Han. But your son needs you..." she whispered to her friend.

"I know..."

"I'm sure everything's gonna be okay..."

Hanna pulled away and wiped her tears.

"I don't know, honestly. This time it's hard to make up. It's not just about today... Today was just the breaking point, Caleb and I... We... It's clear that we have some trouble lately... And it's all awful, because in two days Liam's turning two, and his parents are becoming two strangers... It was just my fault, I ruined everything... Maybe if he was gonna propose, we could have fixed our issues, starting by there. But now... I really don't know, Aria." Hanna murmured.

"Ezra's gone cycling with some friends and Emma's sleeping, so we're alone. Do you want some hot tea, maybe it's gonna help you calm down?" Aria asked, smiling softly.

Hanna nodded, forcing a grateful smile.

"Thank you."

* * *

Hanna didn't come home for dinner. She stayed at Aria's with her and Emma. She got home late that night. Silently, she made her way to the bathroom and took a shower, then put on some clean underwear and a nightie, which she had in some drawer in the bathroom. Only then, she finally entered her bedroom. Caleb was lying on his back under the blankets, but he was awake.

"Hi." Hanna murmured awkwardly.

"Hi."

"Is Liam sleeping?"

Caleb nodded briefly.

"Where have you been?" he asked then.

Hanna sighed, then got under the blankets next to Caleb.

"Aria's. I needed to talk with someone." she murmured.

"Okay."

"Has Liam been fine?"

"Of course he has. I know how to handle him. He's my son too, you know." Caleb snapped.

"I didn't mean that. I wouldn't have gone away leaving him with you if I thought that."

Caleb sighed deeply and looked away.

"I think we should stay apart for a while, Hanna." he murmured suddenly, still looking away.

Hanna swallowed as another tear caressed her cheek. She couldn't say anything. Nothing came out of her mouth. Then, Caleb turned around.

"You know that's the best thing to do right now too." he added in a whisper.

Hanna wiped her tears away and then she found enough strength to nod. She had to admit it, he was right.

"Can we just wait until Tuesday before... You know...? I just want Liam to have a great birthday party." Hanna stuttered, sniffing.

"Right, of course." Caleb nodded.

"What about him then, though?"

"Hanna... Whatever happens, I promise he will always have the chance to see both of us. He will never have to pay for our misunderstandings. His life is the most important thing, and he needs both his mom and dad. We'll find a way, I promise."

Hanna nodded again, pursing her lips.

"Uhm... Do you want me to sleep on the couch?" Caleb asked awkwardly, scratching his head.

Hanna felt other tears stream down her face at his question. It hurt. He was the man she loved. And she was the woman he loved. Why did they have to sleep apart? How had they been able to reach that point? She shook her head and turned her back at him.

"Actually, I'd like you to hold me tonight." she whispered, not sure whether he had heard or not.

It sounded ridicolous. But she had just said what had come to her mind.

Then, she heard him move between the blankets, and a second later his arm was wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him, and his face was buried in her hair. She could feel his breath against the back of her neck. Hanna let out another tear and placed her hand over his under the blankets.

"What happened to us, Caleb?" she whispered in the dark one second before drifting off to sleep.

Caleb didn't reply, but Hanna knew he had heard her because he sighed against her neck.

He didn't know the answer either, though.

* * *

The next morning, Hanna woke up without Caleb by her side. She glanced at her alarm and saw it was around nine in the morning, so he had already left for work.

She spent the whole morning with Liam, then she called her mom to babysit him when she had to go to work in the afternoon. She didn't tell her about Caleb, she wasn't ready to. She guessed it was better to keep the secret at least until Liam's party, the next day. Aria was the only one to know about that, and she imagined Ezra knew it as well, since not only he was Aria's husband, but it was also the first person who Caleb usually spoke with when he needed to talk about something. He had probably told Ezra.

At work she met Laura, who asked her if with Caleb was everything okay. He had probably called her telling her she didn't need to come for dinner that night anymore. Laura knew about the ring, but she couldn't imagine the reason why he wasn't going to need it anymore. Hanna just said that everything was fine, then got home by dinner time.

When she walked through the door, an happy Liam ran into her arms.

"Mommy!" he squealed.

"My big boy!" Hanna laughed, picking him up and hugging him tightly.

Ashley appeared from the living room, smiling.

"He was an angel." she commented, laughing when Liam kissed her mother on the lips.

"Good little man. You're a good little man." Hanna told him, tickling his tummy and then placing him on his feet.

Liam ran back to his toys as Ashley approached Hanna.

"Honey, is everything okay?" she asked, sounding a little concerned.

"Yeah, mom. Why?"

"I don't know. Today when I came here to watch Liam before you go, I had a feeling that something was bothering you..."

Hanna sighed and faked a smile.

"Mom, it's okay. Really." she assured her mother.

"Fine, if you say so. What time does the party start tomorrow by the way?"

"Uh, like four 'o clock. Come whenever you want, though. Liam, Caleb and I will be all day home tomorrow."

"Caleb doesn't have to work?"

"He took the day off. He wants to be with Liam at least for his birthday."

"You wish it was always like that, don't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... Caleb all day home. Or at least most of the day. I can imagine that's hard not to have him with you and Liam until the evening every day."

Hanna sighed deeply.

"Yeah, it's hard. It's really hard." she added, looking down.

"Well, I know you guys can handle it, though. He's a perfect dad even if he often has to stay away from home, right?"

"Right."

Hanna was a little embarassed, but tried not to show it. She obviously failed, but Ashley decided not to insist.

"Okay, sweetie. I gotta go now. If you need something, though, just give me call." Ashley said.

"Of course, mom. Thanks for watching Liam."

"It's always a huge pleasure."

"Liam! Come here to say goodbye to grandma!" Hanna shouted.

Liam ran from the living room to Ashley, and she got on her knees to give the little boy a bear hug.

"Bye, Liam. Grandma loves you so so so much." she whispered, kissing his cheek.

"Bye, grandma Ash!" he said, before running back to his toys.

Hanna gave her mom a hug and told her they were gonna see the next day, then she sat next to Liam to play with his dinosaurs.

"So, little man... How was today with grandma? Did you have fun?" she asked, stroking his son's hair.

"Yeah. We watched _Finding Nemo _twice."

"Twice? Really?"

"Yeah. And we played with Legos, but grandma doesn't know how to build the train. Only daddy can build the train."

Hanna smiled at him.

"Daddy is the greatest, right?" she asked him.

Liam turned to her mother and nodded with the best of his smiles, even though he didn't have all of his teeth yet. Hanna's heart melted and she felt her eyes getting watery.

"Why you cry, mommy?" Liam asked then, lovingly furrowing his little eyebrows.

In that moment, he looked _exactly_ like Caleb.

"I'm not crying, baby." Hanna smiled at him.

Liam smiled back and then returned to play with his toys.

"Hey, little man... I'm right here in the kitchen, okay? I'm gonna cook something." Hanna told him.

Liam nodded, still focused on his dinosaurs, then Hanna got up and went to the kitchen. She cooked some maccaroni and cheese, saving some of that for Caleb, who was gonna be back later. She and Liam ate shortly after, then Liam went back to his toys. Hanna tried to make him sleep, but as usual he wanted to wait for his dad to be home. So they just waited for him, together.

* * *

**A/N: Hello guys and Happy Easter to everyone :) So, I know the situation between Hanna and Caleb's still a little tough, but that's part of the storyline ;) Plus I know you trust me, right? :P You're gonna love the next chapter, I promise :D So, I also want to thank all of you for your reviews. Your support is absolutely amazing! However, I'm writing another Haleb AU :P I know I still have to give you the last chapter of BTTB, and I will, but I just got the inspiration and I started writing another Haleb story haha :D but now, I'm staying mainly focused on this... Just wanted to tell you :) So, leave a review if you want, can't wait to know your thoughts! Again, Happy Easter everyone! xx -Atramea.**


	4. Chapter 4

After a while, the front door wide opened and Liam immediately jumped up and ran to his entering dad.

"Hi, daddy!" he squealed.

Caleb picked him up and hugged him, as Liam wrapped his little arms around his dad's neck. Hanna appeared from the living room and watched the scene, without being able to hold back a smile at that sight. Caleb was wearing his work clothes; a black suit with a buttoned blue shirt underneath and a black tie, with his brown leather case which had now fallen to the ground because he was hugging Liam with both of his arms. Hanna couldn't help but notice that he looked absolutely handsome, especially dressed like that.

He caught sight of her and gave her a small smile, still with Liam wrapped around his chest like a koala. Hanna returned the smile, then he pulled away slightly to kiss his son's cheek.

"Hey, bud. You're still up?" he asked him.

"I was waiting for you, daddy." Liam replied.

"Yeah. Here I am now." Caleb smiled, placing him back on the floor.

"You build the Legos train with me?" Liam asked with those puppy eyes of his.

Caleb sighed and got on his knees so that he was at his son's level.

"Little man, it's a little late now. Daddy needs to eat something, and you need to go to bed. You know, there's your party tomorrow, remember? You're turning two! That's why you need to rest now, so tomorrow we can play all day long, okay? I'll be there with you for the whole day, like it's a Sunday... It will be great, I promise." he told him then.

"Promise?" Liam repeated, looking up at Caleb.

"Of course. I'm also gonna tell you a secret, bud... If you go to sleep right now, then tomorrow's coming earlier." his father assured him.

Liam's eyes lightened up at that, as Caleb gave him a nod. Liam turned to his mom.

"Is it true, mommy?" he asked.

Hanna smiled at him.

"Yes, it is. Go grab your teddy bear so we can go upstairs, okay?" she told him.

Liam nodded and turned to his father to kiss him on the cheek and telling him goodnight, so he ran to the living room to look for his teddy bear. Caleb stood back up and walked to Hanna, kissing her briefly on the forehead.

"Hey." he whispered.

"Hey." Hanna whispered back.

He usually gave her a peck on the lips when he came back home from work, but Hanna felt surprised that he wanted to kiss her anyway, even though just on the forehead.

"Everything okay?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah. What about you?"

"Me too. I'm just so glad to be able to be home tomorrow."

Hanna smiled slightly and nodded.

"There's some maccaroni and cheese on the kitchen counter. But if you want something else..." she started, but Caleb cut her off.

"Maccaroni and cheese sounds great. Thanks."

Hanna nodded, and was sure Caleb was about to say something else, but then Liam tugged at her jeans with his teddy bear under his arm.

"I wanna go to sleep, mommy." he said.

Hanna picked him up and kissed his cheek.

"I thought you'd never say that." she commented, giggling.

Liam probably didn't understand, but he giggled along with her mom. Caleb kissed the top of his head one last time and then went to the kitchen to eat while Hanna took Liam to his bedroom.

* * *

When Hanna finally got Liam asleep, she changed into her more comfortable nightie and then returned downstairs, finding Caleb loading the dishwasher. She didn't know if she needed to say something or not, but then Caleb spoke before her.

"He's out?"

"Yeah. It was strangely easy tonight."

Caleb chuckled.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked then, becoming serious again.

Hanna was worried. She started picturing what he was gonna say. Was he gonna start talking about who could take Liam on weekends or holidays like divorced parents did? Was he gonna say he would have moved to San Diego?

"Han?" Caleb continued.

Hanna pursed her lips and quickly fixed her hair with one hand, then hastily nodded.

"Yeah, yeah... Of course." she added.

"Okay, well... I spoke to my father at work. You know, about that thing..."

"About working less hours a day?"

"Yes. He said he could figure something out. Like... One day I'll have to go earlier in the morning but then I can come back in the afternoon, one day I'll have to stay just for the evening...and so on. Like shifts. This way I won't lose whole days in my office instead of being home... With you and Liam."

Hanna raised her eyebrows.

"Did you just say _'you and Liam'_?" she asked to be sure.

Caleb sighed and scratched the back of his neck. He looked a little embarassed.

"Yeah. Hanna, I... I think I... I think we..." he stuttered.

Hanna gave him a minute, in which she just suggested to sit on the couch. Then, Caleb tried again.

"Look, I think that maybe we both overreacted yesterday. Maybe we don't have to just break up to fix things. I mean... We have Liam. We have to find the right way to make our things up because it's not just about us. We're _parents_. Hanna... I'm sorry about yesterday. I shouldn't have gotten that angry after your outburst. I shouldn't have immediately suggested to break up. Maybe it's not the right thing to do. Now that my dad gave me a little more space at work, well, maybe we could start from there. You will have to trust me more and I will have to be more present. I think we should give another try and not give up like this. Look, I... I didn't sleep at all last night. I stayed awake the whole time and you were there, sleeping in my arms, and I watched you, and I realized that I want to be like that still for a long time. I'm not ready to lose you, okay? I don't want to. You're not just the mother of my child. You're the woman I love. The only woman I ever loved. You're too important to me. I just can't give up on us... That's it."

Hanna was totally surprised, and couldn't say anything, so Caleb took a breath and continued.

"I spoke to my dad today because I want this, I want to try harder. Let's make tomorrow an amazing day for our son but for us too, okay? I just need to know if you agree, or if you actually think that we should stay apart for a while. I will respect your choice whatever it will be, but... I want you to be honest. If you're not ready to give another try, it's fine. Just say something, though. Please."

"I wasn't expecting that." Hanna murmured with a shy smile.

Caleb smiled back and grabbed one of her hands, holding it in both of his.

"How do they say? Night helps to clear your mind." he replied with a slight shrug.

"Caleb... I... I'm so sorry about yesterday too. I just... I made a mistake doubting on you. But... I love you. I really do. And I'd love to keep fighting for us."

Caleb smiled again.

"Good. You know, it's clear that we do have some issues, but I'm sure we can make up for them. Look, let's just wait to get married. No one is pressing us, right? Maybe we're not ready for that step yet, but... This doesn't mean that we have to break up. What do you think?" he added.

Hanna just nodded and smiled weakly.

"You know, I thought marrying you was the solution, but I think I was wrong. We just needed to open up with each other. Han, I want us to tell each other everything from now, okay? If there's something wrong, if I do something wrong, anything, just tell me. Going on without talk will split us up. I don't want that to happen. We'll have to be honest and trust each other. Then, if it's going to work, and I'm sure it is, I promise I'll marry you...because I love you. We'll have the most beautiful wedding of the century. I just think it can wait for now. It's not the most important thing." Caleb said.

Hanna nodded again.

"Hey, I know you want us to get married, and I promise I'll marry you, but... Maybe we should just give us a little time more. Let's start from tomorrow. It's our little man's birthday, isn't it?" he continued.

"Yes... You're right. And thank you for forgiving my stupid sicking jealousy."

Caleb laughed and kissed the back of the hand of hers he was holding.

"Thank you for understanding." he replied.

Then, Hanna leaned in and kissed him gently. When he pulled away, he noticed she had a few tears at the corner of her eyes and cursed himself.

"Don't cry, please. We'll get through this, don't worry. I love you. It's okay." he whispered.

Hanna then hugged him and he held her tight, tracing patterns on her back.

"Did you tell your mom about our fight?" Caleb asked, still hugging her.

"No. Only Aria knows. I didn't want to tell anyone at least until Liam's birthday party was over. And... I was also kinda hoping this was going to happen."

Caleb chuckled through her hair.

"Well, it happened. And I'm so happy you didn't reject me." he mumbled.

"Reject you? Caleb, I didn't even have the guts to make you sleep on the couch last night. I even asked you to hug me..."

"Yeah, yeah... You're just too cute." Caleb commented.

Hanna playfully slapped his chest, as Caleb laughed.

After a while, they got up from the couch to drink something, and the second they finished their beers, Hanna was kissing Caleb with all the passion she had in her body. Caleb let his tongue fight with hers for dominance, and he wasn't sure about who the winner was eventually, then he just grabbed Hanna's butt and lifted her body, as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He then spun them around and made Hanna sit on the kitchen counter, without breaking the kiss. Caleb slipped his hands in between her thighs, under her nightie, finding and quickly slipping her panties down until they were right at her ankles. Hanna fumbled with his belt and managed to unfasten it, and then, in just one move, she pushed both his trousers and boxers down, just the necessary to reveal his throbbing erection.

She couldn't even remember the last time they were both so horny and so greedy for each other.

Caleb broke the kiss just to let his tongue travel down her mouth, licking her chin, her jawline, her neck while he slightly pushed down the upper part of her nightie to make her breasts come outside of it. Only when he could finally bring his tongue on them, he made one rough movement pushing himself inside of her without warning. Hanna couldn't hold back the loud moan which escaped from her mouth, coming right from her throat. He didn't give her any time to adjust to his presence, he just placed his hands on her hips and went deeper and harder inside, pushing even her hips forward to make them meet his strong thrusts, while he kept licking and biting her nipples. Hanna gripped his hair hard with one hand, while the other rested on his bare ass. She just threw her head back against the kitchen wall, squeezing her eyes shut and trying not to scream too loud remembering that their son was sleeping in the same house. Caleb was making weird throaty noises, a little smothered due to his lips pressed against Hanna's skin, while he kept thrusting.

The pace they –he– had setted was really quick, and Hanna knew she wasn't going to last for so long. She was about to reach her high when Caleb, suddenly, stopped thrusting and slipped outside of her. Hanna was confused, since she knew that he hadn't come yet either. But then he pulled her by the legs until she was standing on her feet on the floor, and he spun her around, pushing her toward the table with his erection pressed against her back. When they reached the table, Caleb lightly pushed Hanna down, so that she was bent over the table. She was still standing on her feet, but her stomach and chest were pressed against the wood. Caleb lifted her nightie and entered her again, from behind. He restarted pounding into her, roughly, holding her hips tightly. Hanna bit hard on her lip trying to contain her moans, gripping the edge of the table with both of her hands until her knuckles turned white. Soon she felt the pressure built inside of her explode, as her mouth let out one last high-pitched moan. She let her head fall on the table as Caleb went on for a few more thrusts before finding his own release, spilling into her and then collapsing forward, on her back, breathing out a long desperate sigh. They stayed like that for a minute or so catching their breath. Caleb was panting on Hanna's shoulder while she was doing the same with her forehead smashed against the table.

"I think... We should... Do this... More often..." Caleb managed to say between pantings, before pressing a brief kiss on her neck.

"Mhmh..." Hanna breathed out in agreement.

Caleb moved his strong hands from her hips to the table, slightly lifting himself from Hanna, and he pulled himself outside of her, pulling his boxers and trousers back up. Then, he went on his knees and slowly pulled Hanna's panties up as well, trailing wet kisses over her long smooth legs as he did so, making Hanna giggle.

"You didn't have that fight with me just for the wild make up sex, right?" she asked teasingly, turning around and grabbing his tie with one hand.

Caleb chuckled in reply, as she pulled him closer by his tie, so she could kiss him.

"I love you." he breathed out when they pulled away.

Hanna smiled.

"I'm going to bed now, I'm kind of tired." she announced then, letting go of his tie and fixing her nightie.

"Okay. I'm just gonna take a shower and then I'll be there." he replied, grinning.

"Keep your hopes down, Rivers. I think what we just did in this kitchen is more than enough for one day. It definifely doesn't require round two."

Caleb rolled his eyes, but kissed her cheek before heading to the bathroom. Hanna smiled and made her way to her bedroom, not before calling Aria to tell her that she and Caleb had made up, even though she couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she had screwed his proposal up.

But when she felt Caleb slip in bed behind her and wrap his arms around her waist, she knew that it was more than enough to smile, and she drifted off to sleep thinking that yes, their wedding could still wait.

* * *

**A/N: So... You all have to love me :) I didn't want to leave you with a tough chapter for too long, that's why I updated again so soon ;) Plus, last chapter got seven reviews from last Sunday, so you were too amazing not to get an early update :D I love your support guys, and the fact that you can appreciate even the chapters which are a little sadder than the usual is really cool... I mean, there has to be some stuff going on, right? Where would be the fun otherwise? (and the wild kitchen make-up sex? :P) Anyway... I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And I hope Caleb's thoughts didn't sound trivial, Hanna's reaction either. Let me know! But... Don't think that from now to the end everything will stay quiet, because drama has not even started, haha :P So get ready :P Next chapter will be kind of a filler, you'll see Liam's birthday party, but I find it cute and I hope you'll enjoy it as well. Then, who knows what's gonna happen? ;) Once again, thank you so much for reviews/follows/favorites... Keep it up :) Let me just mention that seeing those Tyshley videos on Ash's snapchat today made my day better, so if you guys haven't seen them yet, well, just go :D ...But first, leave a review here! ;) Bye guys! Love! xx -Atramea.**


	5. Chapter 5

"My little man, you're too handsome today!" Hanna exclaimed once she finished getting Liam dressed.

Liam was wearing a white buttoned shirt with a pair of jeans, and a little black papillon with small white pois.

"Handfom!" the kid squealed, staring at his reflection in the mirror.

Hanna laughed and picked him up.

"Now, let's fix your hair." she suggested, heading to the bathroom.

"What's mommy doing to you, Liam?" Caleb asked, emerging from the bedroom wearing just a pair of jeans.

"She's making me handfom!" Liam replied from between Hanna's arms, giving his daddy an happy smile.

"You're already handsome, little man." Caleb chuckled, kissing the top of his head and then placing an hand on Hanna's small back.

"C'mon, put some clothes on! Everyone will be here in thirty minutes!" Hanna then warned Caleb.

"Yeah, yeah... But you should relax. The party's gonna be awesome, okay?" Caleb replied, winking at her.

"Okay." Hanna echoed.

"By the way... You look absolutely gorgeous, _mommy_." Caleb added.

Hanna was wearing a long tight blue dress with a pair of silver Jimmy Choo's. Her hair was simply smooth and was framing her face, which had a flawless make-up on. It wasn't that she wanted her son's party to be formal, but she assumed that it was a good excuse to wear something more elegant. She just liked dressing up. And Caleb loved seeing her like that, too.

"Thanks." Hanna murmured, blushing a little, then Caleb placed a kiss on her temple and walked away as she entered the bathroom with Liam.

"Mommy, what's _gordwus_?" the kid asked confused as Hanna made him sit on the bathroom counter next to the sink.

Hanna laughed as she found the scallop in one of the drawers.

"That's _gorgeous_, baby. And it means beautiful, got it?" she explained her son.

"Daddy thinks you're beautiful!" Liam laughed then.

"Is that so funny?"

"I think you're beautiful too, mommy." Liam smiled as Hanna started brushing his hair.

Hanna melted and stopped doing what she was doing to hug his little boy.

"Mommy loves you so much, Liam." she whispered in his little ear.

Caleb leaned against the bathroom doorframe and smiled looking at that scene. That was all that mattered to him. However, he cleared his throat to make known his presence.

"Hey, we just had a little cheesy mommy-baby moment." Hanna said, smiling.

"Yeah, I saw. I just wanted to let you know that my dad's not coming, as always." Caleb said then, sighing.

Hanna picked Liam up and then placed him on the floor on his own feet.

"Little man, what about you go to your room to play a little before everyone comes?" she suggested her son.

"Yay!" Liam squealed, before rushing to his room.

Hanna sighed and walked closer to Caleb.

"Look, it doesn't matter. I mean, I'd be happy if he was here, but it's clear that he doesn't really care about his grandchild." Hanna told him.

"I don't know why he keeps acting like this. He never tries to find a moment for Liam. He barely saw him since he's born." Caleb muttered.

"I told you, he doesn't care enough about Liam. However, it's not a big deal, Caleb."

"Well, it is. It's my father, Han."

"Yeah, well... I don't know what to say then."

"Are we fighting again?"

Hanna took a deep breath.

"We're not. Look, let's just think about Liam today, okay? I just want him to be happy. Today is his birthday." she said then.

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry."

Hanna wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned closer to him, as he held her back. He started swinging slightly with her in his arms. Hanna closed her eyes and let Caleb cradle her.

"I can't believe Liam is already two..." she murmured.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Seems like it was just yesterday when we were sprawled on the couch looking at the prints of the first ultrasound..." he replied without pulling away.

Hanna smiled and brushed her face against Caleb's now clothed chest, inhaling his scent. A lot of memories came up to her mind, good ones. Their relationship throughout her pregnancy had been amazing. Caleb had been really sweet and cheesy with her and the baby bump. He had rubbed her feet everynight, and he had often spoken or hummed something to the bump. He was of an endless cutness, and they were madly in love. Not that now they weren't in love anymore, but things between them were definitely better at that time. She had also thought about having another baby, but it wasn't the right time now, definitely. They had to find their stability before anything and think about Liam. A kiss through her hair shook all her thoughts away.

"What are you thinking about?" Caleb asked, pulling away a little.

"Nothing, I just... I was remembering when I was pregnant." she admitted, looking up at him.

Caleb smiled at her.

"C'mon, everyone will be here soon." he said then, probably to avoid the topic.

Hanna sighed and followed him out of the bathroom.

* * *

The party was going fine.

The first to arrive were Aria, Ezra and Emma. Liam immediately started playing with her, they were getting on really well, even though Emma was a girl and she was already four. Then, Ashley came with her fiancé Ted and then even Hanna's dad stopped to say hi, even though he didn't stay for so long. Then, the doorbell rang again and Hanna went to the door. It was Jess, with her and Caleb's mother.

"Hanna, darling!" Claudia, Caleb's mother, exclaimed, hugging Hanna.

Hanna greeted her and hugged back and then Jess approached them.

"Hey, Hanna." she said, smiling.

Hanna pulled away from Claudia and smiled at Jess.

"Jess, hi. Come in, Caleb's in the living room with Liam and everyone." she replied.

"This is for Liam." Jess said, handing Hanna a wrapped box.

"Thanks. Let's get to him." Hanna concluded, walking to the living room with Jess and Claudia.

"Grandma Claudia! Auntie Jessie!" Liam exclaimed as soon as he saw the two woman with his mom.

"Liammy!" Jess exclaimed.

He ran to them and Claudia picked him up.

"You're so handsome, Liam!" she told him.

"Mommy and daddy told me that too." the kid replied proudly, as Jess handed him the box.

"This is for you, buddy." she added.

Liam squealed and grabbed the box, then Claudia put him down an helped him to unwrap it. In the meanwhile, Jess approached Caleb.

"Brother." she smiled at him.

"Hey, Jess. Thanks for coming." he replied.

"What happened that made you change your mind about... You know... That thing we were supposed to do last night?"

She was obviously referring to the fact that Caleb had cancelled the dinner where he was gonna buy the ring to propose to Hanna, dinner in which Jess was supposed to come to help him with the choice of the ring. He made an awkward smile and slightly shrugged.

"Hanna and I discussed about that thing, it just came up, and we decided it can wait for now." he whispered, careful not to make the others hear.

Jess raised her eyebrows. She knew there was more. However, she decided not to ask more.

* * *

The party kept going well. Liam played with all the presents he had gotten until there was the cake moment. Caleb carried it from the kitchen to the living room, humming the happy birthday song along with the other adults –and Emma– in the room. Liam blew out the two candles and clapped his hands excitedly, before burying one of his little fingers into the whipped cream of the cake, as Hanna laughed. Then, they took some photos in which Hanna, Caleb and Liam looked exactly like the perfect family, even though they weren't _exactly_ the perfect family.

A little after that, Liam was back to play with Emma and his new toys, as the adults were eating the cake and chatting. Hanna came back from the bathroom and noticed there wasn't a seat available, so she was going to the kitchen to take a chair from the table, but Caleb, who was eating some cake, understood and just smiled at her and patted on his thighs, suggesting her to sit on his lap. Hanna was a little doubtful, she wasn't really for the PDA, especially in front of her mother and his mother, however she decided to accept so no one was gonna think that something was wrong between her and Caleb. She approached him smiling and sat on his lap, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, as Caleb wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her steady.

"I can't believe Liam's already two, guys." Claudia smiled at the couple.

"Yeah, we were just talking about that earlier." Caleb agreed, exchanging a quick look with Hanna.

"He's a wonderful kid." Ashley added, looking at where Liam was sitting with Emma.

"He is." Hanna smiled proudly, looking over at her son too.

Caleb took a piece of cake with his fork and then he brought it toward Hanna's mouth, who smiled and let him feed her.

"So... When are you gonna give us another little one?" Claudia asked suddenly.

Hanna almost choked on her cake, as Caleb widened his eyes at his mother.

"I-I think we're good like this, mom." he stuttered quickly.

"Yeah, well... Claudia, maybe before that they should just get married, shouldn't they?" Ashley added, smiling at her daughter and Caleb.

Hanna shifted uncomfortably on Caleb's leg and blushed. They both remained speechless, as Claudia laughed slightly with Ashley.

"I'm sure they will get married when they feel ready." Aria bursted in, noticing the tension.

Hanna gave her a little grateful smile as Caleb cleared his throat, pushing his now empty dish forward on the coffee table. Luckily for them, Liam approached them in that awkward moment, stretching his little arms out to be picked up. Caleb smiled at him and did it, placing him on the leg of his Hanna wasn't sitting on.

"Here's the birthday boy!" Hanna smiled proudly at him, stroking his hair gently.

"Did you like your presents, little man?" Caleb asked him, wrapping the arm that wasn't holding Hanna around his son's little waist as well.

"Yes, daddy! We need to build the Legos starship that auntie Jessie and grandma Claudia brought me!" Liam exclaimed excitedly.

All the adults laughed at him, as Emma jumped on Aria's lap.

"Of course we'll build it, bud. Daddy will be home earlier tomorrow, you know?" Caleb smiled at Liam.

The kid widened his eyes and his mouth fell open.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yup." Caleb grinned, kissing his son on the top of his head.

"Seriously, Caleb?" Ashley asked.

"Yeah. I talked to my dad, trying to find a way so that I can work less hours a day. So.. We figured something out... I'm gonna have something like shifts. So, one day I'm working just in the morning, waking up really early but being home right after lunch time, one day in the afternoon, and so on. I mean, I prefer to get up earlier and be home in the afternoon instead of getting more sleep but not being able to be home before dinner time, practically when Liam goes to bed. I miss being home with Han and this little monkey." Caleb replied, eventually grinning at Liam.

Hanna smiled at him.

"That's great news!" Ashley smiled as well.

"So we just have to wait for this wedding." Jess said, raising her eyebrows.

Hanna sighed and got up from Caleb's lap, grabbing Caleb's empty dish and some others dishes from the coffee table, as an excuse to walk away, carrying them to the kitchen. She put them in the sink and then roamed a hand through her hair.

She couldn't help it. Everytime she heard someone say that word, _wedding_, she just lost it. She wanted to get married so bad, and she had told that to Aria multiple times. It was her dream, since she was a child. The white dress, the vows, the celebration... Everything.

Hanna sorta envied Aria, because she was happily married to Ezra, she had Emma and, even if almost no one knew that, they were even trying for another kid. Hanna just wanted her life to be like that. Instead, she had screwed everything up because she hadn't trusted Caleb. He would have proposed that day if it hadn't been for her. Yeah, Liam was the joy of her life, that was for sure, she just wished that things with Caleb had been a little..._better_. She wasn't blaming him, though. She wasn't blaming anyone.

They had Liam together, why wouldn't they be ready to get married, after all?

She just wanted to be happy, _really_ happy with him, she just wanted to get married and even have another child. But right now, that wasn't possible. Anyway, she was really hoping that Caleb's change at work was going to help someway.

"Han."

She turned around and saw Caleb smiling slightly at her. She forced a smile back.

"What's wrong?" he asked again.

She sighed again.

"I wish yesterday had never happened." she admitted then.

Caleb furrowed his eyebrows and walked to her.

"You mean?" he asked.

"I wish I hadn't been so idiot... I wish you had asked me to become your wife today."

Caleb made a little smile.

"I thought we already talked about this." he replied.

"I just... I shouldn't have been so stupid, ugh."

"Han, you're not stupid. Plus, I think that my propose today would have been just a way to convince myself that we were fine... But we aren't... At least, not completely, not yet. We deserve better than that. We agreed that we need to start over from today, didn't we? Look, tomorrow I'll finally start working with a good timing. I'm sure that this way, things between us will get better, and maybe we'll be able to get married without doubts, and—"

"Maybe. Or maybe not." she cut him off.

Caleb just stared at her.

"Caleb, I don't know what's wrong between us. I mean, everyone sees us as the perfect couple, the perfect family, but of course we aren't. C'mon, we're still not ready to get married, even after four years and a child together. And what's driving me crazy is that I don't know what's wrong between us. When there's Liam with us, or when we're just not talking, everything is perfect. But when we start talking, everything just becomes a mess. And we fight, every damn time." she continued.

"Han, I thought that yesterday we—"

"We didn't fix anything, Caleb. We just had sex like we hadn't done in months. That's it." she cut him off again.

"I don't understand. You said the wedding could wait. And now, what?"

Hanna sighed and leaned against the kitchen counter, closing her eyes and throwing her head back, trying to relax the nerves of her neck. Caleb sighed as well and took a step closer, putting his hands on top of hers.

"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to be harsh, I... I get it. My mom, your mom, Jess... They're all making you, _us_, pressure. About the wedding, about another baby... But we never cared about what everyone thinks or wants, right? We always knew that what matters is what _we_ think and want." he said softly, rubbing circles on the back of her hands with his thumbs.

Hanna looked at him and bit her bottom lip.

"What if that was what _I_ want too?" she asked softly.

Caleb wasn't expecting that. It totally caught him in surprise. He opened his mouth to say something but then stopped himself. They looked at each other for a few seconds, then Caleb retried to speak.

"I know you want to get married, but you seemed okay yesterday when we talked about keep waiting for a little bit more. Did you change your mind?"

Hanna took a deep breath.

"No, I didn't. If you want to wait I guess I don't have a choice since I want to marry you... So okay, let's wait. But I'd really like to get married, and I would marry you even tomorrow. I mean, we have a son, I think that having Liam was way more important than getting married. So I don't see the actual point of keep waiting. That's it." she replied.

"Well, you'd like to get married but just the other day you thought I was cheating on you... It doesn't really make a lot of sense, do you realize it?" he snapped then.

Hanna rolled her eyes. Here they went again.

"Look, I don't want to fight right now. It's Liam's birthday, and he and everyone are right in the other room. At least for today, can we please make an effort?" she said.

Caleb sighed and lowered his gaze, nodding.

"Yeah. But you have to know that... I swear, Han, that starting from here I'll do my best to be a better man for you and Liam. You're my family. You're everything that matters to me. I love you. With or without the wedding." he murmured, looking into her eyes.

Hanna smiled slightly and took him by the hand.

"C'mon, let's go back to our little man." she whispered to him, making her way back to the living room hand in hand with him.

* * *

The rest of the day went by quickly. The last to go away were Aria, Ezra and Emma who had also been the first to came. While Hanna and Aria chatted, Caleb and Ezra played no-stop with Liam and Emma, making them laugh until they both passed out, exhausted. Liam was carried to his bed by Caleb, while Ezra took Emma in his arms and then decided with Aria it was time to go home.

Hanna and Caleb were now in bed, her head resting on his chest while he stroked her hair. They were both silent; they hadn't really talked about their little discussion of that afternoon. Hanna knew that if it came up they were gonna fight again, and she didn't want to, so she stayed silent just enjoying Caleb's cuddles.

"You tired?" Caleb asked in a whisper, breaking her train of thoughts.

"A little. It was a long day." Hanna whispered back.

"Yeah, it was. But it was a beautiful day too."

"Yeah. Liam had a lot of fun."

"I know. He was exhausted from laughing so hard before falling asleep." he chuckled slightly.

"I saw. He's so happy when you can play with him." she smiled.

Caleb played with a strand of her hair and smiled as well.

"Hopefully tomorrow I'll be home early enough to build that damn starship with him." he added.

"Well, I definitely can't do that."

Caleb laughed and kissed the top of her head. There was some silence before Caleb spoke again.

"Can I ask you something?"

Hanna slightly lifted her head so that she could make eye-contact with him.

"Yes." she replied, sounding a little worried.

"When today you told me that what our mothers were saying was what you wanted too, well... Yeah, you meant the wedding, _just_ the wedding, or... Well, you meant that you'd like to have another baby too?"

Hanna couldn't help but smile when she saw his nervous expression.

"Well... I mean, it's not like I feel the urge to be pregnant again, to throw up every morning and to grow bigger and bigger, but... When I think about another little munchkin here... I just like it, honestly. I know that now it's not the good moment to, though. It was just... A thought." she replied then.

Caleb stayed silent, but he kept gently stroking Hanna's hair. He processed each of her words. He had to admit that he liked too the idea of another baby, maybe a little girl, but the moment right then wasn't really the best to start trying, like she had just said.

* * *

**A/N: Hello world! A long long chapter to make you guys forgive me for being late :) I read all of your reviews and you guys seriously make me smile with your kind words... Thank you so so so much, I'm so happy you're enjoying this story. I hope you all liked this chapter about Liam's birthday, even though there was a little tension between Haleb, I know. But hey, it's not like they make love and everything's okay, right? I'm trying to be realistic :P but don't doubt for even a single moment that they're not madly in love with each other, because they absolutely are :) Every couple must have its own issues, that's all ;) That being said, however, the next chapter will start with a little flashforward, and I can assure you guys that Hanna and Caleb will finally have a bit of stability then, so don't worry :D I know you trust me and I won't disappoint you ;) And then... A lot of drama coming up as promised! Just be a little patient, this story is just started :D can't wait to read your awesome reviews this time too! Thanks a lot again, till next time :) Love! xx -Atramea.**


	6. Chapter 6

Things after Caleb's new time of work went definitely better. He could spend definitely more time home, with Liam extremely happy. And Hanna too. She and Caleb found time just for the two of them as well, everything seemed to go back to the way it was before their little 'crisis'. Maybe he was right, they just needed more time to find each other back. Anyway, neither the wedding nor the baby were mentioned after Liam's birthday.

Three weeks had passed from then. Now it was a Tuesday morning, and Hanna had to go to work, while Caleb had to go in the afternoon. The alarm went off and Hanna groaned, waking up and stretching an hand to stop it. She unwrapped Caleb's arm from her waist and sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes for a few seconds before placing her feet on the floor, stretching herself.

"Time to go?" Caleb mumbled from behind her.

Hanna slightly turned her neck, enough to look at him.

"Guess so." she replied.

Caleb sat up as well and leaned in to place a soft kiss on her lips.

"Good morning." he whispered then.

"Good morning." she whispered back, giving him a small smile.

Hanna got up and went to the bathroom before entering in the bedroom again, then she started getting dressed, as Caleb watched her from the bed, crossing his arms behind his head.

"Go back to sleep." Hanna said, pulling her jeans up.

Caleb smirked and Hanna saw his amused expression from the reflection of the mirror.

"I want to look at you." he replied.

"You're such a creep." she giggled.

Caleb laughed slightly.

"Call me if Liam needs something, okay?" Hanna asked then, about to get out of the bedroom.

"Don't worry. We'll be fine." he smiled reassuringly at her.

"Okay. I'm going downstairs to have something for breakfast and then I'll go. I'll see you later."

"Wait."

"What?"

Caleb just raised his eyebrows at her. Hanna rolled her eyes and walked to the bed, bending down and giving him a peck on the lips. Caleb tried to deepen it but Hanna pulled away.

"I don't like to be late." she smirked, pinching his cheek before walking away for good.

Caleb shook his head, laughing, then he fell back on the mattress.

He loved his life now. He was happy to having solved all of his issues.

* * *

Caleb woke up hearing Liam cry. He had fallen back asleep after Hanna had left, and after something like an hour Liam had decided it was time to get out of bed, for both of them. Caleb got up from the bed and slipped in a pair of sweatpants, then walked to Liam's room and took him in his arms, lifting him from the little bed.

"Shhh, little man. Daddy's here." he whispered, slightly rocking him.

A few minutes later, Liam had stopped crying and was now sitting on the kitchen counter, with Caleb feeding him a fruit yoghurt for breakfast.

"Alright, bud, this is the last." Caleb told him, placing a spoonful in front of his little mouth.

"No more, daddy!" Liam whined.

"C'mon, little man! That's the last one!"

"No more!" Liam whined again, this time louder.

Caleb sighed.

"Hey, if you're gonna finish the yoghurt, then we can play with your Legos. But if you aren't..." he said, making a face.

Liam's eyes widened and he immeditately opened his mouth for Caleb to feed him the last spoonful. Caleb smiled and Liam ate it.

"Let's pway!" the kid squealed then, excitedly.

Caleb laughed and placed the empty yoghurt container on the counter next to him, before giving his son a high-five.

"Yeah, bud! Good job, let's go playing!" he laughed then, picking him up.

They sat down on the floor and played with Liam's Legos and dinosaurs for a good hour.

"Daddy, where's mommy?" Liam asked suddenly, out of the blue.

"She's at work right now. At the mall, you remember, bud?"

"Yeah. Mommy gives people clothes."

"That's right. She'll be back soon, don't worry."

"Then we can pway all together?"

Caleb smiled sadly at him.

"I'm sorry, little man, but... When mommy will be back, I will have to go to work too. You'll stay with her, okay?" he gently told him.

Liam nodded, but Caleb knew he was sad because he couldn't be with his mommy and daddy at the same time, excepts for the weekends.

They kept playing for a few minutes longer, before Caleb's mobile started ringing.

"Wait a minute, okay, little man?" Caleb asked Liam.

The kid nodded, still focused on his tyrannosaurus. Caleb took a few steps away from Liam and then picked up. It was an unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Caleb Rivers?"

"Yes, that's me. Who am I talking to?"

"Manuel Albaruenta. I'm a friend of your father's. I'm a movie director."

"Oh, well... How can I help you, sir?"

"Um, well, I had a little talk with your father two months or something ago. And... I saw your work with the website of his company. I was really impressed. You did a really good job. Really professional."

"Thank you, sir. But I still don't understand how can I help you."

"Of course... Okay, I was just wondering if you could do something more... Let's say _serious_. Your father assured me you're really capable with computers and stuff, I also saw that, and my crew and I are just searching someone who could help us with the cameras and the effects for our new movie. Yeah, we would really like you to work with us. I know all of this could sound weird and rushed to you, but I saw your work on the website and I was seriously impressed, plus I completely trust your father, so... Yeah, it would be great."

Caleb stayed speechless for a second. _Working in a movie_. What a great opportunity. It would be a dream coming true.

"Well, I'm sorry but I'm still working with my father and we recently agreed on my time schedules, so that now I can divide my time between my job and my family. I can't take another job right now, it would be impossible." he spoke then, realizing his current situation.

"I get it, but what I am offering to you it's just a temporary job. You know, like a month or two, I still don't know how long it will take but yeah, something like that. We'll start in two weeks, so... You'll come here, stay with us for a period and do what you have to, and then you'll be free to go back to Los Angeles to your family and your previous job... Your father has already agreed on that, don't worry."

"Wait, sir... Where's your set? Where am I supposed to come?"

"Yeah, right. We're in Europe, Spain."

Caleb froze. _Spain? A month or even two?_ As much as he loved the idea of working in a movie, as much as he would have really, _really_ liked to experience something like that, he knew he couldn't stay away from Hanna and Liam for that long.

"Sir, I have a son, he's just two, I... I can't leave him for that long to go to the other side of the world... I'm sorry, it's impossible." he breathed out, rubbing his forehead.

"Yeah, I know this is kind of an hard decision to take, so... I'm gonna give you a week to think about my offer, don't worry. And... I'm also gonna meet you on Friday since I'll be in Los Angeles, so that I can discuss with you about the details, only if you want, of course. But I want to let you know that our crew would pay you _a lot_ for this, mr Rivers."

"Yes, we can meet on Friday, sure, and I'm grateful for everything you told me, but... Sir, that would be also my first time working for something like a movie. I don't know if I could do something like that. I really don't think it's my scene..."

"I know, I know, but... You're talented in computers and I understood it just by seeing the work that you did for your father. Look, I'll be clear, you won't work alone if you're gonna accept, there will be people helping you, like you all were a team, so... I think that's a great opportunity, and I think you should take your time before rejecting my offer. Just think about it, okay?"

Caleb sighed.

"Okay, I will. So... I guess I'll see you on Friday, right?" he said then.

"Right. I have your number, we'll just keep in touch until then."

"Okay, sir. Thanks."

"Have a good day, mr Rivers."

"You too."

And then Caleb hung up. He couldn't accept, he knew it. Right now that he and Hanna had found their stability after a few issues, right now that he had find a way to spend more time with Liam and not to be away from home almost 24-7. He couldn't leave them to go to work to the other side of the world for that long. It would have been great to do something new and exciting like working in a movie, but he just couldn't. Hanna and Liam were his absolute priority.

"You talk to mommy?" Liam's cute little voice asked as Caleb walked back to him.

Caleb smiled and sat cross-legged next to him.

"No, little man. It wasn't mommy, it was just a friend of your grandpa Will." he replied then.

And then he thought about the fact that he didn't even know if Liam still remembered his grandfather. Liam had seen him barely a couple of times.

"Nothing important, don't worry." he added, smiling down at him.

"Okay, daddy. You pway with me?"

"Sure."

While sitting back on the floor with Liam, Caleb glanced over at the lunch table of the living room where there was a vase. And in that vase, Caleb had hidden _something_. For Hanna. He sighed and right in that moment he realized that he could never accept that work offer.

* * *

When Hanna later came back from work, Caleb didn't tell her anything about that phone call with Albaruenta. He didn't feel like talking about that. He just spent a few minutes playing with her and Liam before going to work. There, just before coming back home, he decided to talk with his dad about the work offer of his friend.

"Dad? Do you have a minute?" Caleb asked, leaning by his dad's office door.

"Just be quick, Caleb. I still have a lot to do."

Caleb sighed and sat across his desk.

"If you want to blame me once again for not being at Liam's party, well, I'm really sorry, but things are totally hectic lately, and..." his father started, but he cut him off.

"It's not about that. Even if I'm wondering if Liam still remembers your face or not... And he probably doesn't."

William sighed as well and looked straight into his son's eyes.

"I'm sorry, okay? Anyway, I'm listening. You're still not okay with your shifts?" he asked, folding his hands on the desk.

"No, no... I'm fine with them. Actually, that change helped me a lot. I just wanted to know more about your friend... Manuel Albaruenta. He called me a few hours ago offering me a job, to freaking Spain. Where does all of this come from, dad?"

"Oh, right... I totally forgot about that. Our company finances his one, the Roja Film. Albaruenta is a movie producer and director. He came here last week to discuss about something, I can't even remember what, and he just took sight of our website. He asked me who had realized it, and I told him it was you. We started talking about you, that you're talented with this hi-tech stuff and so on, then he said that he needed a few people to help with his new movie, like cameramen or someone to take care of the effects. His crew needs a little help, that's it. So he asked me if you could have been interested. I just told him that I didn't know, but he begged me to give him your phone number. And I just did it. I think you know the rest of the story."

Caleb leaned back in his chair and pursed his lips.

"Well, I'm not gonna accept. He told me I'd have to go to Spain and stay there probably for a couple of months." he said then.

"And so what? It's not like I'm gonna fire you, it would be just temporary!"

"Dad, you really don't get it, do you? I asked you to work less hours a day to be more present home, to spend more time with Hanna and Liam... I could never leave them for two months to go to Europe!"

"Caleb, think about it. Just a few years ago you were just a shop assistant working in a stupid mall. And now you get the opportunity to work in a movie. That would be great for your curriculum. Don't get me wrong, I want you to work with me, I've always wanted you to, but if you accept what Albaruenta proposed you, you can continue working here after coming back from Spain. I trust him, and I think you should experience that. He will pay you so much, by the way."

"Don't call that place 'stupid mall', okay? I worked there for a long time, when I didn't have anyone, and Hanna still works there. It's a respectable place. Anyway... I can keep Hanna and Liam with this job. Luckily, I don't need money." Caleb muttered.

"But you probably need a break."

"You mean?"

William sighed before replying.

"I see you're stressed. Liam is just two years old, I mean that I can understand that sometimes it's hard to manage. You may take a break going to Spain for some weeks, I'm sure Hanna could understand and would be okay with Liam by herself."

Caleb couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Liam is not a load to me. He's my son and I love him more than anything in this world. I don't need any break from him or from Hanna. I totally love my life with them." he snapped then.

"Okay, okay... Whatever. If you don't want to work with Albaruenta, then don't. It's your choice."

Caleb licked his lips and got up from his chair.

"However, I'm gonna meet him on Friday so that he can tell me the details. But I'm pretty sure that I won't change my mind." he added.

William nodded.

"Caleb?" he said then.

"Yeah?"

"Did Hanna tell you not to go?"

Caleb chuckled.

"She doesn't even know about that yet. Again, dad, it's just that I don't want to leave her and Liam. It's my choice, you said it. I stopped letting other people take decisions for me years ago. I'll see you tomorrow." he snapped then, before exiting his dad's office.

* * *

**A/N: Here I am, finally :) So, the drama's coming ;) This job offer is basically where the real story starts! You guys will find out soon how things are gonna go starting from now chapter by chapter... Hope you'll like the storyline :) Oh, any theories on what Caleb hid into the vase? :P Anyway, just a thing... Since Caleb's dad in this story is kind of a jerk, I decided not to make him Jamie. I like him, haha :) So Caleb's dad will be William, Claudia's husband, and he's called William Rivers instead of Dawson. Just to make things clear ;) Sooooo... Thank you everyone for your reviews! It's really really appreciated, seriously. It means so much that you're enjoying the story, even if Haleb is not always all lovey-dovey, and always want me to update haha :D DarkHearted14 asked me about BTTB, and I feel awful because I haven't updated that in a while, anyway you will have the last chapter soon, promise. It's just that I had some block, not knowing how to end things and what make to happen in the last chapter. But I think I finally kind of made up my mind, haha :) (however, if you guys wanna suggest something for that last chapter, feel free to PM me!) So, sorry if sometimes I'm awfully late, but I write just when I feel inspired, because it's impossible do it when I'm not, at least to me. Anyway, you know I won't leave anything unfinished, right? :) Again, thank you for your support, y'all are amazing :) Can't wait to know what you guys think of this chapter, so... What are you waiting for? Review! :) I'll try to update soon! Have a good day, love you! xx -Atramea.**


	7. Chapter 7

"Daddy!" Liam's adorable little voice exclaimed as soon as Caleb walked in the house.

"Little man!" Caleb replied, going on his knees to pick up his son, who had ran to him.

Hanna appeared from the kitchen and smiled at the sight. The light which appeared in Liam's eyes everytime he saw his daddy was priceless.

"You were waiting for me, weren't you?" Caleb asked the kid.

Liam nodded.

"Okay, well... I'm right here now, so I guess it's time for you to go to bed." Caleb continued.

Liam pouted slightly and Caleb chuckled.

"Hey, what about this... I'll tuck you in tonight. I'm gonna read your new Peter Pan's book and then you'll try to get some sleep, 'kay?" he suggested his son.

Liam nodded excitedly. Caleb put him down, placed his briefcase on the coffee table and took his coat off, then walked to Hanna, who wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled up at him.

"Hey... Welcome home." she whispered.

Caleb smiled and leaned in to kiss her gently.

"Thanks." he whispered back against her lips, smirking.

"Daddy! Peter Pan!" Liam called holding his teddy bear, breaking his parents' moment.

Hanna and Caleb chuckled, then Caleb walked to him and picked him up again.

"Right. Say mommy goodnight, c'mon." he told him as Hanna approached them.

"Night night, mommy." Liam said.

"Goodnight, baby. Will you give mommy a kiss?" Hanna sweetly asked him.

Liam leaned in and gave Hanna a sloppy kiss on the cheek. She laughed and kissed him on the forehead.

"Good. Let's go upstairs now, little man." Caleb suggested then, walking to the stairs carrying Liam in his arms.

* * *

Half an hour later Liam was asleep in his room, so Caleb ate something for dinner while Hanna waited for him on the couch of the living room. When he was done, he immediately joined her.

"Hey, what are you watching?" he asked, nodding toward the TV.

"The Notebook." Hanna replied, focused on the screen.

Caleb slightly rolled his eyes. Hanna had watched that movie at least eight times. However, he didn't say anything, he just unhooked and took his tie off, followed by his shoes, then lied completely down on the couch and let Hanna adjust in his arms.

"How was your day?" she asked in a whisper, lying her head down on his chest.

"Good." he replied simply, not wanting to talk to her about the work offer.

They both stayed silent watching the movie, comfortable in each other's arms, until Caleb, gotten bored, slipped his hands underneath Hanna's shirt —which was actually one of his shirts— and started rubbing circles on the bare skin of her belly. Hanna giggled, it tickled her.

"Stop." she piped up, twisting in between his arms.

"No." he laughed.

Hanna knew there was just one way to make him stop, so she quickly turned around and straddled him, jumping forward and kissing him passionately. Caleb happily kissed back, automatically resting his hands on her butt. Hanna hastily unbuttoned Caleb's shirt while making out, then she slid it off his shoulders. But as Caleb grabbed the hem of the shirt which Hanna was wearing, Liam started crying from his room. They pulled away flushed and Caleb groaned.

"What a good timing, Liam." he muttered jokingly, searching for his shirt.

Hanna giggled.

"Don't worry. I'll think about him." she smiled, standing up and walking to Liam's room.

Caleb waited for a few minutes, then he got up and walked to Liam's room as well, putting his shirt back on in the meanwhile without buttoning it, then stood in the doorway. He watched as Hanna tried to calm Liam down. It was amazing. _She_ was amazing.

"Little man... You basically didn't sleep at all, huh? Shhh... Mommy's here, everything's okay..." she whispered, rocking him between her arms.

Caleb kept watching the scene, smiling at himself, until Liam fell back asleep and Hanna turned around, finally becoming aware of Caleb's presence.

"What were you doing here?" she whispered while closing the door behind her back.

Caleb shrugged and smiled.

"Nothing. Just watching the loves of my life." he grinned at her.

Hanna smiled back. She grabbed his hand and the pair made their way back to the living room, where the TV was still on but the movie was over. Hanna grabbed the remote and turned it off, then looked at Caleb.

"It's kind of late... What about we go to bed too?" she suggested.

"Okay." he said smiling.

They were heading to the bedroom while Caled suddenly stopped walking.

"Oh, hey, I was almost forgetting... While you were at work this morning, well, Liam and I played, and then one of his dinosaurs fell into that vase on the table... I know you like that vase so much, that's why I didn't try to take that damn dinosaur out of it... I didn't want to break it. Could you please try?" he asked, nodding toward the vase on the table of the living room.

Hanna furrowed her perfectly plucked eyebrows.

"The dinosaur fell into the vase and you didn't take it because you didn't want to break the vase?" she asked perplexed.

Caleb nodded.

"Yeah." he added, shrugging.

"Well, Liam's sleeping right now... I guess I'll just do it tomorrow."

Hanna restarted walking to the bedroom, but Caleb grabbed her wrist.

"Could you please do it now?" he asked, smiling.

Hanna was seriously confused seeing his behavior.

"Caleb? What the hell are you up to?" she asked then.

Caleb roamed a hand through his hair. He looked..._nervous_.

"Just do it now, Hanna." he repeated.

Hanna stayed still for a second, looking into Caleb's eyes. It all sounded so weird. She walked to the table and grabbed the vase, slightly shaking it. There was something inside, yeah. She looked into it, but it was too long that she couldn't clearly see the bottom. So, she just turned it upside down, and a little blue velvet box fell on the table. Hanna gulped and turned to Caleb, who was smiling at her.

"Okay, the dinosaur thing was absolutely lame... I have to admit it. I'm not very good at making up stories, yeah, I know." he shrugged.

Hanna was like petrified. Was that what she was thinking it was? Was that really happening or she had just misunderstood?

Caleb slowly walked to her and then grabbed the small box, which was still on the table. With the other hand, he took the vase from Hanna's hands and placed it back on the table. Then, he cleared his throat and finally kneeled down in front of her, slowly opening the velvet box. A wonderful sparkling diamond ring was inside of it. Caleb took a deep breath and finally managed to say something.

"Hanna... I thought a lot about this. You know, a few weeks ago I would have do it to try to make up for my lack of presence home, not because that was what I really wanted. But now it's different. Things have changed, and day by day I've only realized how much I love you and how much you mean to me. I'm... I'm honored that you're the mother of my child, and... God, this is a thousand time harder than I thought it was... Okay, well... At first I thought about doing this in front of your mom, my mom, my sister and our friends, the people who we love, but then I thought that it was better to do it when there's just us, and... I'm sorry if I used all of this time to realize that I totally wanted this, because I know that you realized it a long time ago, but, yeah, I've been probably wanting this for a while too, but now I'm totally sure that I want it, and... And I know that this is probably the worst proposal speech ever, but... But what matters is that I love my life with you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you and our little man, and... When I see you two together, I know that you're my whole world, my whole life. And I have no more doubts about anything. Look... Before I met you I didn't believe in love. I didn't think it existed. But then you came into my life, and... Well, we started seeing each other, and day by day something has grown inside of me, and I realized I was falling for you. And I fell, hard. Then I learned that love existed. I'm so lucky to have you, and I don't even know why you chose such an idiot like me, but I know you did. I love you like I never loved anyone in my whole life. And I love our child and the family we've become all together. So... Yeah... Given all of these things... Hanna, will you marry me?"

Hanna covered her mouth with an hand as her eyes became filled with tears. She let out a slight sob and stared at the diamond. Caleb smiled a little.

"Please say something, I don't know how much longer I can stay on one knee." he said.

Hanna wiped a single tear away and took a deep breath.

"It's wonderful..." she whispered, referring to the ring.

Caleb grinned.

"It's yours. But you should give me an answer..." he teased then.

Hanna smiled and took Caleb's face in between her hands.

"Yes." she whispered.

"Yes?" Caleb repeated, standing up.

"Yes!" Hanna screamed, throwing herself into his arms.

Caleb laughed and hugged her tightly.

"I love you so much." Hanna said into his ear, still crying for the happiness.

"I love you too, babe."

Then, they pulled away just enough to be able to kiss, passionately, strongly, like it was the last kiss they could have ever shared. After a while, Caleb let go of her lips and lifted her left hand.

"Here..." he whispered, sliding the ring over her finger.

Hanna looked at her left ring finger totally amused, then Caleb kissed her hand. She smiled at him and held his hand in hers.

"I wasn't expecting this at all." she commented then.

Caleb just shrugged, still grinning.

"I just hope you like the ring, I chose it all by myself, eventually." he chuckled.

"I love it... And I love you." she replied with decision.

Caleb smiled again and restarted kissing her, over and over, as they stumbled into their bedroom and shattered their clothes all around the floor.

Hanna pulled Caleb down on the bed, lying on top of him and kissing his lips. He pulled her closer against his chest and kissed back. His tongue got in her small mouth and found hers, which tangled with his one. Hanna pulled away, smiled down at him and kissed his lips again, this time slowly and gently, then she bit his lower lip. He moaned and rolled her over, letting his body be on top. His face came down on her neck, alternating chaste wet kisses with bites and hickeys, as she scratched every inch of his skin her hands could reach.

"You know I'm gonna go haywire if you keep going this way..." Caleb told her, almost moaning under her touch.

"That's what I want..." Hanna whispered in his ear, biting its lobe.

He smiled and let his head travel down her naked body, which smelt like a mixture between strawberry and lavender, as her hand gripped and then let go of his hair. He stopped at her bellybutton, kissing it and playing with it with his fingers. It was one of her turn-ons and he knew it. So, he slowly touched that strip of her skin, then planted his tongue into it, as his hands came back up to tease her breasts. He caught sight of her pleased look, as she smiled and shivered under his touch.

"God, Caleb... I'm the one who's going haywire..." she sighed.

He continued his game, as she kept caressing his head, and then he went lower. He put his hands on each of her smooth thighs and let his mouth enjoy her core.

"Fuck..." she mumbled between starts.

His face came back to the surface, satisfied, and it went in front of hers. She smiled and kissed him again, then she overturned the situation and went on top. She massaged his chest and made sure to make their waists correspond. Then, she made them one without hesitating more. She started riding him, rather quickly, and he almost lost it immediately. His hands tried to make her already flowing movements easier, pinching her hips. Then, she slowed down, and the sudden change of pace made Caleb feel he was exploding. He gritted his teeth and let out an exhausted moan, as a part of him gushed all of itself out. Hanna then bent down on him, pressing her forehead against his, and let out a shaky cry too, squeezing her eyes shut as her inner walls clenched themselves around him.

"We both went haywire here..." he chuckled after a few seconds, breathing heavily, still buried inside of her.

"Oh, you can say that..." she replied before leaving a small kiss on his slightly bearded chin.

"I love you so much, you know that?"

"I know. I love you too."

Hanna then rolled off him, lying back on the mattress. Caleb sat up in bed and pulled the blankets all over them before lying back on the mattress as well. She rested her head on his chest and lazily sprawled an arm over his abdomen, while he wrapped his arm around her side and rested his hand comfortably on the curve between her hip and her ass under the blankets. They stayed silent for a while, just enjoying each other's presence.

"When did you decide to propose?" Hanna asked suddenly.

"I don't really know the exact moment, actually. But... These last weeks made me realize that I want this... I want to tell the world that you're mine and that I'm yours and that's gonna be like this forever."

Hanna smiled up at him and pecked his lips quicky.

"It wasn't that bad as a proposal speech, by the way." she chuckled then.

"Shut up. I probably looked like an idiot."

"You were too cute, I can't even tell."

Caleb rolled his eyes, laughing slightly.

"Hey, when do you have to work tomorrow?" she asked then.

"In the morning. I'll be done around two in the afternoon... What about you?"

"I have the day off tomorrow." she smiled.

"Awesome. We can spend the afternoon together, just the three of us... What do you think?"

"I'd love to. I need some family time."

"Yeah, tell me about it... We're gonna take Liam to the park, yeah?"

"Perfect."

Hanna nuzzled her face into Caleb's neck as he held her close. After a few minutes though, Hanna felt the urge to say something.

"Caleb?"

"Yeah?"

"I... Uh... I was wondering... You know... Well, I need to ask you something." she stuttered.

Caleb pulled back a little as Hanna helped herself up with her elbows. She looked at Caleb and bit her bottom lip.

"What is it?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Look, I don't want to sound hasty or anything, but... Yeah, I mean, you just asked me to marry you and I've already started thinking _things_, and maybe—"

"Hanna... Tell me." he interrupted her gently, grabbing her hand.

"Okay, well... I was thinking about stopping to have the pill. But, of course, I was never going to do it without telling you first, and yeah, maybe we should just wait until we get married, that was probably stupid for me to ask you now."

Caleb smiled widely.

"You want another baby?" he asked then, rubbing circles on the back of her hand.

Hanna looked down, hiding an embarassed smile.

"Yeah, I... I think I do." she murmured.

Caleb laughed slightly.

"Well, my mom would be really happy to hear you right now." he added.

"What about you? Are _you_ happy?"

Caleb smiled.

"Look, Han... Actually, I don't think it would be hasty. I mean, a few weeks ago we had a little tough period, that's true, but I think that every couple has its own tough periods. But... We got out of it. And, yeah, things between us are great lately. I proposed and you said yes, so... I think they're more than great, right? And... Well... I don't see why we should wait until the wedding... We already have Liam, and we had him when we were just a boyfriend and a girlfriend trying to build a stable relationship living under the same roof, without even just thinking about a wedding or a baby, so why are we supposed to wait for another little one now? Look... You know what? We are not gonna _try_. We're just gonna _stop trying to avoid it_, okay? When it happens, it happens. If it happens after the wedding, that will be okay, but if it happens before then, well, that'll be okay too." he said.

Hanna grinned.

"Is that a yes?" she asked.

Caleb grinned and rolled her over, so that he was on top of her.

"Yes... But... This time we should go for a little girl..." he whispered in her ear, kissing down her neck.

Hanna giggled and placed her hands on his back, pulling him closer to her.

"Oh, yeah?" she teased, as he kept going lower and lower.

Caleb lifted his head and grinned.

"Yeah." he added before disappearing underneath the blankets.

And Hanna smiled again. That was one of the happiest days of her life.

* * *

**A/N: Yay, I'm backkkk :) And I think this was such a big chapter to get back with ;) last chapter didn't have enough Haleb scenes, I know, but I hope this one could make up for it :) haha, I know that the ring in the vase was kind of obvious, anyway you guys guessed correctly. I hope you can understand Caleb changing his mind about the wedding... I mean, men have their own timing for everything, don't them? :P Now, don't forget about the job offered to Caleb... He hasn't told Hanna yet, but he will. So just keep it in mind when you read the following chapters ;) Anyway, thank you all for your reviews! You guys are absolutely amazing :D:D I'm so happy you're enjoying this fic, and I repeat you once again...the drama's just starting :P I can't wait for you to find out what's happening next ;) That's why I'll try to update soon, but I even wanted to tell you all that I'm also going to start a new Haleb AU rated M soon, a multichapter as well. It's gonna be...intriguing, at least I hope ;) So stay tuned :) Aaaand, before you go, please let me know what you guys think about this chapter! I hope you liked Caleb's proposal, even though it was a little clumsy, yeah, haha :D Thanks for reading and thanks in advance if you leave a review! Have a nice day, love you all! xx -Atramea.**


	8. Chapter 8

"Where are we going?" Liam asked as Hanna zipped up his little Winnie The Pooh coat.

"We're going to the park, baby." Hanna replied, smiling at him.

"Really?"

"Yes. You know, there's a huge playground there." Hanna added, making a gesture with her arms.

"Yay! Can I pway there?"

"Sure, little man. That's why we're going there." Caleb replied to him, walking down the stairs.

Caleb had come back home from work a little earlier and now, after a quick shower, he had just changed his work clothes to wear a more comfortable sweater and a pair of jeans. He was ready to take Hanna and Liam to the park. He took Liam's little hand in his as Hanna put her own coat on, then she opened the front door and took Liam's other hand as well.

"You ready, little man?" she asked, smiling down at her son.

"Yes!" Liam squealed excitedly.

* * *

The little family reached the park shortly after. Liam was between Hanna and Caleb, his little hands holding both of their hands. The kid suddenly became aware of something weird and unfamiliar while holding his mom's hand.

"Mommy, what's this?" he asked confused, briefly touching Hanna's new engagement ring with his little fingers.

Hanna smiled widely and the three stopped walking. She got on her knees and showed the ring better to Liam.

"That's a present from daddy. He made me a surprise last night, and then he gave me this ring. Do you like it?" she told him.

Liam looked a little skeptical, but he nodded. He probably wasn't really interested in rings.

"Can I go pway now?" he asked then, pointing toward the chute of the playground.

"Of course, little man, but be careful. Daddy and I will just be sitting there, okay?" Hanna replied, nodding toward a bench.

Liam nodded quickly before rushing into the playground, where there was a small group of other children. Caleb smiled watching him and then sat on the bench with Hanna.

"He didn't look so thrilled about the ring." he chuckled.

"Yeah, he was more interested in the chute." Hanna laughed, looking over at his son.

Caleb extended his right arm over the backrest of the bench and pulled Hanna closer to him. She cuddled up to him and smiled realizing how comfortable it always felt.

"Have you told someone?" he asked softly, rubbing his hand over her shoulder.

"I only called Aria, this morning. But I don't want to tell my mom by phone... I just want to see her facial expression when I'll show her the ring."

Caleb laughed slightly. He knew Ashley wanted their wedding almost as bad as Hanna did. Or even more.

"Well, she sure will be thrilled." he remarked.

"What about you? Did someone know what you were gonna do last night?"

"Honestly, no. I thought about doing it like that, without telling or asking for advice to anyone. Well, Ezra probably knows right now, since you told Aria. Anyway, I know my mom will be beyond happy too."

"And Jess?"

Caleb grinned.

"She's gonna be happy too, believe me. She used a little more than anyone else to understand that you and I were made for each other, yeah, but she eventually did. But you'll see, when she's gonna realize that she'll have to dress up for his brother's wedding, she will be more excited than how excited Liam is right now." he added.

Hanna laughed.

"So... We're made for each other, huh?" she pointed out, taking his free hand in both of hers.

"Yeah, we are." he smiled down at her, before pecking her lips quickly.

Hanna looked attentively at his hand, playing with his fingers.

"You know, you have such a big hand. I can perfectly picture a wedding ring right here." she stated, tracing his ring finger.

Caleb chuckled and looked down at his hand.

"You think?" he added.

"Yes. They say that people who have a big hand, have a big heart too, you know?"

"Well... I knew that people who have a big hand, have something else big too, and I'm not talking about the heart... I'm talking about _something_ that you should know very well..." he smirked mischievously.

Hanna lifted her head abruptly and widened her eyes at him.

"_Caleb_!" she exclaimed, blushing slightly and slapping his chest.

"What? Isn't that true?" he laughed.

"Okay, look, I'm not having a discussion about the size of your..._thingy_." she whispered embarassed.

"Whatever. You perfectly know I'm right." Caleb teased.

Hanna chose not to reply, she just gave him a little smirk and then she rested her head back on his shoulder, interlacing her fingers with his ones, and kept watching Liam play with the other kids. He looked happy and that was all that mattered to her.

* * *

Around an hour later, Liam got a little bored and walked back to his parents. Caleb took him on his shoulders and play some kind of weird game with him, making him laugh exaggerately, and Hanna laughed along with them. Then, Liam noticed it had just arrived an ice-cream man and pointed his little finger toward him.

"Daddy! Ice-cweam!" he exclaimed.

"Oh... Do you want some ice-cream, little man?" Caleb asked, finally putting him down.

"Yay!" Liam nodded.

"Alright, let's go then." Caleb suggested, picking him up properly between his arms.

"Caleb, just two scoops." Hanna recommended, raising her eyebrows at the pair.

Caleb nodded and walked to the ice-cream man with Liam. Hanna watched them from the bench, smiling seeing Liam looking at the various flavours through the glass and then pointing to the chocolate. She got up to stretch her legs, then decided to take a few steps through the park, while waiting for Caleb and Liam.

After a couple of minutes of walking, she arrived to a nice green area near the park and noticed an house behind the trees. It had a wonderful garden in front of it, and it looked really beautiful. All of that green surrounding it was making it so suggestive. It looked like the house of her dreams, the house which she had always pictured in her dreams since she was a kid. The house in which she would like to live with her family and raise her children. She approached the front door, curiously, and noticed a 'for sale' cardboard, however the price was too high. She smiled sadly and tried to take a glimpse of the inner of the building through the windows, but she couldn't.

"Mommy!" Liam's voice came up behind her.

Hanna turned around and smiled as she saw her son walking to her holding his little cup of chocolate ice-cream.

"Hey, sweetie. Do you like your ice-cream?" she asked, going on her knees.

"Yes! Chocolate!" Liam smiled.

Caleb walked to them and went to his knees as well, wiping Liam's mouth with a handkerchief, since he had chocolate almost all over his cheeks.

"What's this place?" Caleb asked then, standing back up on his feet.

"Beautiful!" Liam said, looking around himself.

"They're selling it. It's such a wonderful house..." Hanna commented.

"It's on sale?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah." Hanna nodded.

"Well, we could think about it. I mean, if we want to expand the family..." he grinned.

Hanna smiled at him.

"Caleb, as much as I'm totally in love with this house, you should know that it will never be our home, unfortunately." she replied a little sadly.

"And why is that? It looks perfect to me, and the neighborhood is quiet, which is kind of unusual here in Los Angeles..." he furrowed his eyebrows.

"It costs way too much. We're pretty fine with money, thank God, but we can't spend so much of that for this house. Don't worry, babe, we... We'll just look for something else." she shrugged.

Caleb sighed and approached the front door. The cardboard said 450000 dollars.

"I like the new house!" Liam yelled, running around the garden.

"This is not our new house, little man." Hanna said, smiling down at him.

Caleb took his mobile out of his pocket.

"What are you doing?" Hanna asked, glancing at him.

"I'm writing down the phone number written on the cardboard." he replied.

"Caleb, we can't even think about this."

"Well, we could speak to the person who's selling it. Then, we can also see how it looks inside. Maybe they can reduce the price, or maybe they can allow us to pay a little at once. Just... Let me give a try."

"What if when we'll see inside we'll like it too much and then we can't buy it? Caleb, I don't want to get false hopes."

"Hey... We'll see other places too, okay? But we do need a new house. Your place is already small just for the three of us. If we're really going to have another baby, well, it will be practically impossible to keep living there. Let's start from here, alright? And then, well, if you really want this house, I swear it'll be yours..._ours_. I promise. Let me take care of it."

"We can't buy it, Caleb. Let's be realistic. It's fine, really. We'll just find another place, you don't need to break your ass only to satisfy a whim of mine. It's a wondeful house, and the place is awesome, but... It won't be ours."

Caleb walked to her and took both of her hands.

"When I say that I want the best for you and Liam, I'm serious. I mean it. If this is the house of your dreams, I'll do whatever it takes to make it our house. Look, these days we can go see other places too. Then, you tell me which are your faves. Okay? For now, I just saved this number. That's it." he stated.

"Okay. Thanks." she whispered.

Caleb gave her a little smile and hugged her. He looked over her shoulder, where Liam was running all over the garden. Something was telling him that it was the right house. Something had brought Hanna there. And she had immediately fallen in love with it. He had too. The price was too high, though, that was true.

And then he thought back to Albaruenta's work offer.

He had said he was going to pay him _a lot_, right?

Two months, and then he was going to be able to give his family a proper house to live in.

Just two months.

* * *

The night came soon. Liam fell asleep quickly after dinner, probably tired from his day at the park. Hanna and Caleb went to bed shortly after, doing some _activity_ before lying together there, the one wrapped in the other's arms.

"I have an appointment on Friday." he whispered out of the blue.

"What kind of appointment?" Hanna asked in a sleepy tone, looking up at him with half-closed eyes.

"Work. A friend of my dad's proposed me something."

"What?"

Caleb sighed deeply before replying.

"He's a movie producer. He asked me if I was interested in helping him and his crew with the effects of their new movie, yeah, computer stuff. It will be very good paid, but... They're gonna film in Spain, for something like two months."

Silence was the only thing that Caleb heard in reply. He looked down at Hanna to see her facial expression, but he couldn't help but smile when he saw her eyes closed and her lips slightly parted.

"Goodnight, babe." he whispered.

Then, he kissed her temple and sighed before closing his eyes as well.

* * *

**A/N: Hi everybody :) So first of all, if you didn't notice it...double update for you guys! The second chapter of my new story, "Glasses of Wine", is out as well ;) and if someone hasn't checked the story yet, well, they're welcome of course :D now... I'm happy you all seemed to like Caleb's proposal in the last chapter ^^ Glad about that. I was worried it was too cheesy and stuff xD Anyway, a little spoiler for you guys: Caleb will tell Hanna about the job offer in the next chapter... How do you think she will react? Then, as always, a huge thank you for your amazing reviews :) It's always nice to hear from you all! So, if you want, let me know what you think about this chapter as well ;) I know, it wasn't really explosive, just a family day between the three, but at some point this story will become more than explosive, I promise :P And I could also update faster this time, if you're curious to find out how Hanna will react to Caleb's news ;) So, that's all :) Again, check out GoW too ;) Have a nice day everyone, love you! xx -Atramea.**


	9. Chapter 9

The next day, both Hanna and Caleb had a few hours free in the afternoon. They decided to go see some places together. Ashley offered herself to watch Liam so that the two can look at everything without any rush.

When she got in the house, Hanna went to hug her, and Ashley immediately noticed the diamond sparkling at her left ring finger.

"Sweetie, what's... What's that?" she asked, trying to contain her excitement.

Hanna smiled brightly, but before she could speak, Liam appeared behind her.

"That's a present daddy gave mommy." he told his grandma.

"Oh my God, Hanna! Congratulations!" Ashley squealed, hugging Hanna again, this time tighter.

Liam looked over his own shoulder, where Caleb had just showed up.

"Daddy, why grandma and mommy so happy?" the kid asked, genuinely confused.

Caleb laughed slightly and approached him.

"They're women, little man. You'll understand, someday." he told his son, smirking.

"Caleb, sweetheart, come here!" Ashley exclaimed then, pulling away from her daughter to hug him.

Caleb smiled and stood up, hugging his mother-in-law to be.

"I'm so happy you finally did it!" she whispered in his ear.

Hanna smiled and approached Liam, picking him up and kissing his cheek.

"Mommy, why all hugging?" he asked.

"We're just happy, baby. That's it." she told him, tickling his tummy.

* * *

Hanna and Caleb went to see so many places, but nothing really made her particularly enthusiastic, nor him. After seeing something like eleven places, Caleb pulled his mobile out of the pocket of his jeans and dialed the number written on the cardboard of the house they had seen the previous day.

"Hello?" a male voice picked up.

"Hi, sir, my name's Caleb Rivers. I saw you're solding an house near the park, and... I'd be interested." Caleb replied.

"Oh, yeah. I'm Brett Pennish, the owner. I suppose you'd like to see the inside, right?"

"Exactly. Would you be free for today, maybe? It would be perfect, my fiancé and I are both free..."

"What about we'll see in half an hour in front of the house?"

"Great. That's perfect, thanks."

"You're welcome. See you later, mr Rivers."

Caleb hung up just as Hanna reached him.

"Who were you talking to?" she asked.

"Oh, it was... Mr Pennish. The owner of the house near the park."

Hanna sighed.

"Caleb, why did you call him?" she breathed out.

"Because we're going to see the inside of that house in half an hour. C'mon." he smiled, holding out his hand for her.

Hanna ignored it and shook her head.

"We can't think about that house. We already discussed about this." she snapped.

This time, it was Caleb who sighed.

"Hanna, c'mon. We saw more than ten places today and we didn't fall in love with any of them the way we did with that house yesterday. And we didn't even see how it looks inside! That's the perfect place for us. For you, me, Liam and the other wonderful babies we're going to have. Let's just take a look at that, okay? And then let me talk with Pennish. He seems a kind man, maybe we can discuss about the price." he told her gently.

"Even if he's gonna reduce the price, it's not like it will cost like the places we saw today. Caleb, that house is huge and it's clear that we don't have enough money for that."

Caleb bit his lip and took both of her hands in his ones.

"I was trying to tell you last night, but you fell asleep, so... Well, I received a job offer a few days ago. Something temporary. And they told me it's very, _very_ well-paid. I still don't know how much exactly, anyway I'll find out tomorrow. So maybe... We could think about that house." he said.

"And why is so well-paid? What is that about?" Hanna asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I... I'm gonna tell you later, okay? Pennish told me he would be there in half an hour, so we gotta go too, like...now."

Hanna nodded as he gave her a small smile, then the two hopped into his car, heading to the park.

* * *

The house was absolutely perfect. Literally the house of Hanna's dreams. She looked like a child inside a toys shop as she walked down the long hallway to the large balcony, which had a wonderful view on the whole park. There were a master bedroom and other two smaller rooms, three bathrooms, a nice kitchen and a large living room with a fireplace.

Caleb talked with Pennish for a while, but he seemed unmovable about the price. Honestly, the house was worth all the money asked for, even if it was a lot. It probably costed also a little considering how bigger it was, the area where it was and all. As Hanna finished her own tour, she approached Caleb and Pennish. Caleb quickly told him they were gonna keep in touch by phone and then took Hanna's hand and led her outside.

"So? Did he reduce the price?" she asked as they got into the car again.

Caleb sighed.

"No, he didn't. I did my best to convince him, but I didn't make it." he replied, starting the engine.

Hanna sighed as well.

"Okay, well... This house is perfect, but... We'll find something else. Don't blame yourself, Caleb. I just wanna be with you and Liam, it doesn't really matter if it's gonna be in this house or not." she told him, gently touching the hand he had on the gearshift.

"Let's just see what they're gonna tell me tomorrow about that job offer. They'll tell me how much money I'd earn from that. Maybe we still have a chance."

"Are you gonna tell me what's that job about or not?" Hanna asked.

"I'll tell you later."

"Why later, Caleb?"

"Because I'm driving and I can't really focus on the road if I have to explain things." he growled.

"Fine." Hanna snorted.

* * *

Caleb kept avoiding the topic for the rest of the day, but when he and Hanna remained alone in bed that night after tucking Liam in, he knew he couldn't go anywhere. And he also knew he had to tell her, sooner or later.

"So? What's tomorrow's offer about?" Hanna asked, lying her head on the pillow.

Caleb sighed and lied on his side so he could look over at Hanna.

"There's this friend of my dad's, Manuel Albaruenta... He's a movie director." he began.

"Are you gonna play a role in a movie?" Hanna exclaimed.

Caleb furrowed his eyebrows at her.

"Absolutely not." he replied.

"Good. I would have been jealous of my handsome fiancé otherwise." she giggled.

Caleb rolled his eyes slightly, but then took a deep breath to tell her the rest of the story.

"He asked me if I want to help his crew for his new project. They need some help, and he saw some of my work for my dad's website, so... He said it will be computer stuff, so it could still be my scene. He told me it's about the cameras and the effects, nothing too complicated. And I would have all the crew's help, anyway. That's it."

"Well, sounds nice. But I really don't think that they're gonna give you all the money that Pennish's house costs."

"Or maybe yes, since I'd work for them for a month and an half or even two, and..." he suddenly stopped.

"And?"

Caleb licked his lips and avoided her gaze.

"And the movie will be filmed in Spain." he finished, not looking into her eyes.

"Spain? Europe?" Hanna asked, sounding surprised.

Caleb raised his gaze and looked at her. She looked quiet. He nodded briefly.

"Well, but... You won't need to stay there, will you? I mean, you'd just help the crew, you could help from here, at least for...most of the time, right?" she asked innocently.

Caleb sighed before replying.

"Hanna... I need to stay there and give my disponibility for the whole time. That's why they would give me a lot of money."

Hanna stayed quiet for a few seconds, staring at him. He just chewed on his lower lip waiting for her to say something.

"So you... You should... Stay there for two months?" she stammered then.

He nodded. Hanna smiled at him and shook her head.

"Caleb, that house is not _that_ important. You don't have to do this. I appreciate the fact that you're ready to make such an effort for me and Liam, but... You can't just leave us for two months. I don't _want_ you to." she stated quietly.

She didn't seem mad or anything. She was quiet. Caleb raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

"I know it sounds bad, but... Think about it just for a second. Two months, maybe even a little less, and then... Then we'll have a lot of money for our family. Enough money not only to buy the house, but maybe even to guarantee Liam and our future children a good future. Maybe I should seriously think about it, because it sounds like a chance which happens only once in a lifetime. After all, I'd be away just for fifty or sixty days." he murmured.

Hanna widened her eyes at him as she couldn't believe that he was actually saying those things.

"Just for fifty or sixty days? _Just_? Caleb, no... No, stop. From what I remember, we were about to break up because we didn't see each other for most of the day, and now what? You're thinking about leaving for _months_? This doesn't have any sense, do you realize it, right? Plus you don't even know if the money is that much! And look, even if it was, even if it was five millions of dollars, it still wouldn't be worth two months here with me and your son." she snapped, now sounding pretty mad.

Caleb sighed.

"Han, I didn't say I'm going to accept. I'm just saying that I should probably think about it before rejecting. I don't like the idea of being away from you for all that time, that's obvious, but I would do it exactly for you and Liam, because that money could—" he tried to say, but Hanna cut him off abruptly.

"Money's not the only thing that matters, Caleb! How many times do I have to tell you? Your only thought is money lately, shit!"

"It's not. My only thought is my family. I'm just being realistic, I want to give you and Liam the best, and money would simply give us an help, a _huge_ help. That's all." he muttered.

Hanna sighed and rubbed her forehead, calming herself down.

"Okay, I'm sorry, I overreacted. But I still don't think that you should accept and go to Spain. Your current job is nice, you work with your sister and parents, and thank God we're not in desperate need of money. You just don't need to do that." she said then, more quietly.

Caleb breathed out deeply.

"Alright, look... Let's just find out how much money we're talking about, first of all. We're getting to know that tomorrow, so... I think we should wait tomorrow to discuss about this, right? Also, I don't want Liam to wake up now." he said then, reaching out to stroke her cheek lightly.

Hanna sighed and nodded, but she had a look into her eyes which said she was really annoyed by what she had just heard from him. He nodded back and spreaded his arms toward her.

"Come here." he whispered.

Hanna sighed again but came closer to him and let him hug her. She rested her head on his chest and he kissed the top of her head.

"Just remember that I love you." he murmured when they were both right about to pass out.

* * *

**A/N: Here is the new chapter :) halebpoo, you guessed correctly Hanna's reaction... Well, I think it's kind of normal, right? But Caleb will convince her to think about it, so she could change her mind throughout the next chapters... Maybe ;) Anyway, I want to thank everyone of you for your amazing reviews! I know I may sound repetitive, but it seriously means a lot to me. I'm very thankful for all of your support :) So... Thoughts about this chapter? Let me know ;) I promise also some Haleb good time —if you know what I mean.. :D— for the next chapter... Anyway, it will start with Caleb's appointment with the movie director! That's all :) I'll try to update soon also GoW (so so so happy you guys are enjoying it that much :P) but I'm rather busy lately because of exams, and I also recently got into a subbing community, so I've got some work to do... But don't worry, I'm still here :P Have a great day! Love xx -Atramea.**


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, early, Caleb was in his office, waiting for Manuel Albaruenta to come. He felt a little tense. Hanna had made pretty clear that she didn't want him to accept, but despite being a little hesitant as well, he knew that it was an excellent offer. Money wasn't the only thing that mattered, yeah, but it could help. And if he and Hanna were really going to have other kids as they had decided, having extra cash was a really good thing. Maybe for the wedding too.

He had woken up before Hanna that morning. She was sleeping curled up against his body and he had smiled at himself seeing that. He felt so lucky to have her. Then, he had gotten up without waking her up, and had taken a look into Liam's room, where he was peacefully sleeping as well. And he felt so damn lucky to have him, too. He and Hanna were his whole life, and if he was really going to accept the offer, it would be just for them.

"Mr Rivers?" an about fourty-five years old man called him from the doorframe of his office, smiling.

"Manuel Albaruenta?" Caleb asked, standing up from his chair.

"Exactly."

"Please, come in."

The man walked in and closed the door behind his back before reaching Caleb and offering his hand to him. Caleb shook it and then invited him to have a seat.

"So... Have you thought about the offer, right?" Albaruenta asked.

"Yeah, I have. But I want to know the details before anything. It's a really important decision to me, since I'm about to get married and I also have a two years old kid home. You may understand, I think."

"Of course, I'm here exactly to inform you about everything."

Caleb nodded.

"Okay, I'm listening." he said then.

"Well... First of all, we're gonna start working in two weeks. So I need an answer by next Monday, mr Rivers."

"Fine."

"So... Your work would be about adding effects to the scenes filmed. You could also help with the cameras, if you want, but since I saw you're really good in computer graphics, I think it would be the best for you to mainly work on the scenes. Respecting our timing, mr Rivers, the scenes which we film in one day must be ready for the next day, fixed and with all the effects applied. We usually get together in the studio when we finished shooting everyday, sometimes we even end up with late nights, the crew and I, and try to figure out the best way to get the scene. I always supervise all of the crew's work, so you don't have to worry about making mistakes at first. We're a team, we make everything all together to avoid each other's errors. And I assure you that the people working for me are all nice and professional. You have my word."

Caleb nodded slowly and pursed his lips.

"Honestly, I like how it sounds. A movie would be something totally new for me, but... I've already worked with some kind of softwares, so I think I could do it... At least, I think." he said then.

"I think so too. Your dad is a dear friend, so I want to give you this chance... I know you can do a good job." Albaruenta nodded.

"Okay, sir... But I need to know how much money we're talking about here."

"Sure, that's comprehensible. So... Like I said when we first talked, mr Rivers, that's a lot of money. There's a specific contract about the work I've just illustrated you, and... You know, the movie business is such a huge business, where money is the main thing. Our company is well-stabilished into this business, so we like making our projects without saving money, to make sure they all come out excellently. But I don't want to bore you more with this stuff, so I'll go straight to the point. If you're gonna accept my offer, you'll sign a contract which says that you'll stay with us in Spain for exactly fifty days, joining the movie effects crew. And you'll be paid 500000 dollars, like each of the other twelve crew members."

Caleb practically gulped hearing the sum. 50 days, 500000 dollars. 10000 dollars a day.

"500000 dollars?" he asked, almost shocked.

"Yes, that's correct."

Caleb pursed his lips.

"That's really a lot of money. How much do you pay the actors, then? I mean, if you pay the crew members this much..." he murmured.

Albaruenta laughed slightly.

"Mr Rivers, I told you... Money makes the movie companies go around. If we pay you this much, it's because we can, and also because we earn so much more each time we produce another movie, clearly. That's the way things go." he shrugged then.

Caleb sighed and scratched the back of his neck. That money was even more than the whole price of the house near the park. He had even 50000 dollars more, which he could spend for the wedding, for Liam's future and for many other things more.

"I don't want to press you, mr Rivers, but let me just tell you that 500000 dollars for a man like you would be really advantageous. You said you have a kid and that you're going to get married soon, so... Well, that money could help, couldn't it?" the man added.

Caleb licked his lips and nodded briefly.

"Yeah, sure. But... I'll just give you my answer on Monday, okay? I need to talk with my fiancé first."

"Of course. I'll stop by here on Monday, if that's okay, and I'll bring the contract with me, so you can immediately sign it if you're gonna accept."

"Perfect."

Albaruenta then stood up and shook Caleb's hand again.

"Use these days to think about it, again. I'm sure you're gonna take the right decision." the man added.

"Thanks. I'll see you on Monday, sir."

Then, Albaruenta got out of Caleb's office, leaving him full of doubts.

* * *

When Caleb got home, he didn't find Hanna there. She was at work, at the mall. There was Ashley with Liam. The kid immediately ran to him as he entered the house, hugging him tightly. Caleb thanked Ashley for watching Liam and then spent the next few hours playing with him. However, Liam fell asleep at some point, so Caleb took a shower and then just lied on the couch thinking about what to do.

Fifty days and then his life could change. He could buy that wonderful house for his family, he could plan his wedding in the perfect way, just like how Hanna would like, and then who knows what else. Fifty days away from Hanna and Liam. That was the price.

The front door wide suddenly opened and Hanna got in.

"Hi." she smiled slightly.

Caleb smiled back and stood up, walking to her and then kissing her on the lips, a little longer than usual.

"Wow... What a welcome home." she grinned then.

Caleb stroked her cheek and then pulled her down on the couch with him.

"How did it go at work today?" he asked.

"Good. I had the shift with Laura, so you can imagine." she smirked.

"Yeah."

Then, Hanna sighed and pursed her lips.

"What about you? Did you talk with the movie producer?" she asked.

Caleb took a deep breath and nodded.

"So?" Hanna asked again.

"500000 dollars for fifty days." he replied.

Hanna widened her eyes.

"What? Are you sure?" she asked totally surprised.

"Yes. He basically told me that his company doesn't really pay too attention on money, since they earn so freaking much that they just don't have to worry about that." he shrugged.

Hanna stayed quiet for a minute before saying something more.

"Look, Caleb... Honestly, I don't want you to go. I told you already. And we both know that Liam doesn't either, even if he doesn't know anything. I... I want you here with me and him. Fifty days is a really long time apart... On the other hand, I know that 500000 dollars is a sum which nobody would ever reject, but... I just don't like the idea of being without you for so long."

Caleb smiled at her cuteness. He took both of her hands in his and looked deeply into her wonderful blue eyes.

"I know, babe. I know. And I don't like that idea either. Money's not the only thing that matters, you're right. But our future does. And being realistic, that money could settle us down for a long time. You and I and Liam, we could finally buy the house of our dreams, and then we could prepare our wedding in the best way without worrying about prices. You're right, being apart has never been a good thing for us, and we experienced it when I worked for the whole day, but... This time it would be a month and an half, but then? Then we will be alright, that's for sure." he told her gently.

Hanna sighed and looked down.

"Last night I was harsh with you, I recognize it, and I'm sorry. But I still haven't changed my mind, Caleb. I don't want you to do this." she murmured.

Caleb licked his lips and nodded briefly.

"I won't accept if you don't want me to. You're my priority, so... If you don't agree with this and you tell me that I have to stay, then I'll stay. But... Can you just think about it? Please?" he said then.

Hanna resumed eye-contact with him and bit her lower lip.

"Would you like to do an experience like that?" she asked then.

Caleb raised his eyebrows and shrugged slightly.

"It sounds pretty cool, I guess. Albaruenta told me I'd be part of the movie effects crew." he added.

"Yeah, sounds cool indeed." Hanna smiled slightly.

Caleb smiled back and then kissed her forehead. Hanna closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against him, so that the kiss could last longer.

"When do you have to give an answer?" she whispered, still in that position.

Caleb broke the kiss a few seconds later, placing then his chin on top of her head.

"Monday." he replied softly.

"Okay. We'll think about this. Together."

"Together." Caleb repeated, holding her closer.

"Is Liam sleeping?" she asked, burying her face into the crook of his neck.

"Yeah."

"Mmmh..." she mumbled before kissing his skin.

Caleb chuckled.

"What does it mean?" he added.

"What do you think it means?" Hanna replied, keeping to draw kisses all around his neck.

Caleb moaned slightly as Hanna slowly pulled him down on the couch, still kissing his neck. She straddled him and then lifted herself, taking off her shirt and revealing a black lace bra. He looked at her in awe and smiled as she started lifting his shirt as well. He lifted himself from the couch too to remove his shirt and then kissed Hanna passionately, unclasping her bra as he did so. Hanna threw it away and then Caleb's mouth was all over one of her breasts, making her moan and throw her head back. In the meanwhile, his hands went to her jeans, unbuttoning them. He slid one of his finger inside them and started rubbing it against the centre of her panties, with his mouth still working on her chest, and Hanna moaned again, this time louder. She abruptly pushed him back down and then she stood up, quickly getting rid of her jeans and her black lace panties, along with her shoes, before pulling his sweats and boxers down without bothering herself to remove them completely. Then she returned on top of him, and he placed his hands firmly on her hips. She bent down and kissed him, slowly, before lifting herself once again and placing his erection at her entrance. Hanna, then, finally lowered herself around him, closing her eyes and sighing in pleasure. Caleb swallowed and lifted his head slightly, enough to see them become a single one. He sighed as well, closing his eyes shut. She started moving on top of him, setting a slow pace. He licked his lower lip as he guided her hips with his hands, feeling his member sliding in and out of her and glancing up at her bouncing breasts. Her hands were pressed firmly against his chest, using it as a lever, and her eyes were closed in bliss. Caleb, instead, forced himself to keep his ones open to watch her. She was too beautiful not to watch her, especially as they made love. After a while, Hanna speeded up the pace, suddenly, scratching Caleb's skin harder. He moaned and pinched her hips, accompanying her, then he pulled himself up on his elbows and kissed her hard as she kept going. She pulled away and hid her face between his shoulder and the crook of his neck.

"Caleb..." she whispered, starting to shake.

"Yes, baby... I got you... Come on, let it go... Let it go..." he whispered back panting, placing his head against her shoulder as well and holding her closer.

Hanna hugged him and buried her fingernails into the skin of his back as she let her orgasm go. Her body jumped slightly and shivered, still hugging Caleb like she needed a support. He plunged himself upwards into her a couple of times more and then he held her tighter as his orgasm exploded as well. She felt him throb inside her and then his hot semen trickle over her inner muscles. He sighed, clearly all-content, staying buried inside of her to enjoy the feeling as long as possible. He lied back on the couch, gently pulling Hanna down with him, and kissed her slightly sweaty forehead. She kissed his neck as an answer, feeling his abs still twitching against her belly. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes before Hanna decided to sit up and then pulled him outside of her, smiling down at him as she stood up off the couch.

"If you're trying to make me realize what I'm gonna miss for fifty days if I accept the offer, well, you know what you're doing." he joked as Hanna put her underwear back on.

She laughed slightly.

"Do I always have to have a hidden agenda to make love to my fiancé?" she added.

Caleb smiled and started getting back dressed as well, in case Liam would wake up.

"Hey, I was thinking... What about you and Liam come with me to Spain?" he blurted out suddenly, pulling his sweats up.

Hanna raised an eyebrow at him.

"Caleb, I can't. I have my job here." she replied, slipping back into her shirt.

"Well, maybe you could ask for a vacation..."

"We're talking about fifty days, Caleb. That's almost two months. It's too much time off to ask for at the mall. And I'm pretty sure you know the director... Plus we would have to pay for another hotel room."

He sighed and ran an hand through his hair.

"You know, it's just that... I've been thinking about all the possibilities. It'd be good if I did something like that in my life, and I'd return with a lot of money for the three of us, and... And I could finally buy us a big house. The point is that... I never gave you anything, Hanna. This house was your house, and I was the one who moved in here when we decided to live together. So you gave me a place to stay, not the other way around. If I wanna go to Spain, it's because this way I could finally do something serious for our family, I could finally give you something, because I love you so much. But at the same time I don't want to leave you for that long. It's true that I wasn't very present at some point, but I was never away from you or Liam for more than a couple of days, and... And I just don't know what to do. That's why I really need you to help me with this decision. That's why I want this decision to be taken together, you can understand me, right?" he told her.

Hanna sighed and sat on the couch next to him.

"Caleb... It's not true that you never gave me or Liam anything. That's the most absurd thing you could have said. This house is mine, that's true, but it's mine just on the contract. This is _our_ house, alright? Mine, yours and Liam's. And... It's not like all the things which someone gives to someone else are material. You've been giving me _love_ for years, Caleb. Even when I treat you like shit because I'm nervous, even when I act like the most unbearable person of the world. And most of all, you gave me Liam, who's the most beautiful thing of my life. I'm pretty sure we made him together, right? And he simply _adores_ you. You're like his hero. So... Don't feel like you have to do this because you have never given us anything, because it's not true, okay?" she replied gently, caressing his face.

He sighed deeply.

"Okay. It's just that—" he tried to say, but Hanna cut him off.

"Caleb, I told you. I promise I'll think about it and we're gonna discuss about what to do together. _Together_. But we don't have to do this _right now_."

He nodded slowly.

"You're right." he murmured then.

She smiled at him and gave him a sweet kiss.

"I love you, okay?" she whispered then.

"I know. I love you too. Remember that. Don't ever forget it." he replied softly.

"I won't. I know that too."

And then he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. She placed her head against his chest and he kissed the top of her head.

* * *

**A/N: Hi guys ;) So I hope you all enjoyed this chapter since you were asking for some Haleb sweet moments :D here you go! So, I will never get tired of telling you, I'm really, REALLY grateful for all of your amazing support for this story and the other one too. You guys seriously make me happy! A virtual hug to everyone of you :D So, thanks a lot for all of the reviews, follows and favorites ;) Next chapter's gonna be very cute, but also a little bitter... Hanna and Caleb will finally take the decision about the job offer. Also, there will be a really sweet Caleb/Liam moment which I hope you all will like :) So... Keep reviewing and let me know if you enjoyed this chapter too ;) In a couple of chapters we'll finally let the drama begin, so... Stay tuned :P Happy Sunday everyone :) Until next time! xx -Atramea.**


	11. Chapter 11

On Saturday night, Caleb decided to take his family to the movies, since Liam wanted so badly to see some cartoon at the cinema. The kid ended up asleep halfway through the movie, though, all curled up against Hanna's chest. Caleb took him from her and they all left the cinema earlier. They made their way home walking since the cinema wasn't so distant from their house and the weather was nice. Caleb carried an asleep Liam, holding Hanna's hand with his free hand.

"I can take him if you're tired, seriously." she told him at some point.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." he smiled over at her, tightening his grasp around Liam's tiny body.

His little arms were linked behind his daddy's neck, and his little cheek was smashed against his daddy's strong shoulder. Caleb had his arm wrapped behind the kid's back, holding him on his hip.

"You know, maybe we should take him to the movies more often. I mean, if he falls asleep so quickly, it could be an easy solution to make him sleep at night." Caleb joked then.

Hanna chuckled and shook her head.

"I thought you weren't against having another little one." she said then.

"I'm not indeed, but this doesn't mean that I miss some quiet sleep." he grinned.

"Well, when we're gonna have another baby, at least for the first period sleeping will _definitely_ be a problem."

Caleb stopped walking and glanced over at Hanna, who stopped walking as well.

"Hanna... Are you trying to tell me something?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Hanna pursed her lips and shook her head.

"I'm not pregnant." she murmured.

Caleb saw her a little disappointed saying that.

"Hey, don't worry. We have plenty of time to make babies, right?" he smiled gently at her.

Hanna nodded and gave him a small smile back.

"Right." she echoed.

"Han, look at me. What's wrong?" he asked, knowing there was something she wasn't telling him.

Hanna sighed.

"It's just that... I don't want to find out that I'm expecting while you're miles and miles far away. I don't want to tell you by phone." she blurted out.

Caleb sighed as well and squeezed her hand tightly.

"We still haven't decided about that offer. But you should know that either way, whether I accept or not, I won't leave you alone. Not even for a single step. I will _never_ leave you alone. Not for a pregnancy, not for anything else." he replied softly.

"I know. That's why I think you should say yes to Albaruenta."

That totally surprised Caleb. He furrowed his eyebrows and stayed silent for a moment.

"What? Seriously?" he asked then.

Hanna took a deep breath and shrugged slightly.

"You asked me to think about it, and I did. But... Can we just go home before talking about this?" she said.

Caleb nodded slowly.

"Sure." he whispered.

Hanna gave him a small smile and the couple restarted walking toward their house, Liam still sound asleep between Caleb's arms.

* * *

When they got home, Caleb gently took off Liam's clothes and put him his dinosaurs pajama on. Liam barely noticed that. He basically didn't wake up at all. Then, Caleb tucked him in and kissed his forehead. Hanna kissed his forehead as well before they both got outside of the kid's room. They took a seat on the couch before turning the TV on. Hanna turned the volume down a little before saying something.

"So... I thought about the offer. And I realized that I was absolutely against it just because I don't want you to leave. But that's awfully selfish of me. Caleb, I... I shouldn't have been so hard with you. I trust you, and I love you, and I know that if you want that money it's just because you want to spend it for me and Liam. For our family. For a new house, for our wedding, for Liam and our future kids... Besides, I know that you truly would like to try this new kind of job. I mean, you love technology, and being the main designer of your family company's website is not really the best part of it. Yeah, it's still nice, but a movie would be so much more exciting than that, I get it. You're a young man, and you're really good at your job. This is a great opportunity for you. And I can't tell you not to take it just because I'm gonna miss you. You're not choosing between your family and your career, you're just taking an opportunity. They're almost two months, it's a very long time apart for us, but... But we can handle it, I know that. When we had that little crisis a few weeks ago, I realized that you're the man of my life, and I know that we're stronger than then now. Our love is strong, and Liam and I don't have to be a block for you. So... That's okay, we can do this. You deserve this experience and I can just give you my complete support because I'm your woman, and... And because I love you, Caleb."

Caleb could hear the hesitation in her voice. She also had her eyes a little watery. He knew she was making a huge effort to say those things, but he also knew she was being honest, with him but most of all with herself. He grabbed her hand and smiled softly at her.

"You would do this for me?" he asked.

She smiled back and nodded.

"Sure. Like you would have been ready not to go if I had asked you to stay. You would have done it for me." she replied then.

He nodded and placed a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"But don't think that you never did anything for us, Caleb. That's not true. This wouldn't be the first." she added.

"Okay... If you say so, then I believe you." he smiled.

Hanna shook her head and placed a brief kiss on his lips. Caleb held her close to him after that, looking down at her.

"Hanna, I want you to be sure about this, though. If you don't feel like staying here with Liam alone, please tell me. We still have tomorrow to think about it." he whispered.

"I won't be alone. There are my mom, Aria and Ezra, Laura, your mom, even Jess... They all love Liam and they all would give me some help if I needed that. I know it. Yeah, they're not you, but... But it's just for two months... Yeah, well, for fifty days."

He smiled again and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm gonna call you every single day. And if we have even just a couple of days off, I'm gonna take the first flight and come here, even if I'm gonna be able to stay just for one day. I'm gonna miss you two so much, but when I'm back I'm gonna make you my wife, we're gonna have the best wedding of the century and we're gonna move to the most beautiful house of Los Angeles, and then we're gonna give Liam a lot of wonderful siblings. I promise, Hanna. I promise." he whispered through her hair.

"Yeah. We're gonna do everything." she whispered back, drowning into his arms.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For trusting me, for letting me do this... I know it's hard for you."

"You always tell me that you want the best for me and Liam. Now I'm the one who wants the best for you. You deserve this. And I know it's hard for you too, even if you're acting like the strong one here. But it's the right thing for you to take this opportunity. I'm with you, Caleb, and I'll always be with you. I'm just sorry I took a little to understand that you deserve to have that job. I acted like a stupid childish selfish kid these last days, and I didn't think about what really mattered...you. I'm so sorry."

Caleb pulled away from their weird hug and looked straight into her eyes.

"Don't be sorry, it's okay. You're the best person I've ever met, you're perfect. I love you." he told her sincerely.

Hanna smiled and kissed him once again. When they pulled away, Caleb moved a few strands of her hair off her face and stared at her.

"God, Liam has your eyes." he commented.

"And your sly smirk."

He laughed a little, but then became serious again.

"I need to tell him. I know you'll do great with him while I'm away, but... I don't know how he will react learning that he won't see me for a while..." he murmured.

Hanna sighed.

"Well... I guess he won't be happy. But he's a smart kid, and when he knows that you'll do this for him and his mommy, and that when you're back we will move to the new house that he likes so much, well... You'll see that he'll be fine with that. It's probably gonna be hard at first for him, and he's gonna miss you for sure, and... It's gonna be like that for me too, but... Caleb, we'll be waiting for you to come home. We love you. We can do this." she said then, sniffing a little at the end.

Caleb bit hard on his lower lip and then pulled her into another hug.

"I love you too... You guys are my whole life..." he mumbled, holding her tightly.

Hanna held her tears back as she let him hug her. Then, when she pulled away, she tried to lighten a little up the mood.

"But... Be good over there, Spanish girls are all beautiful and there are plenty of discos. You've been warned, Caleb!" she told him.

"Ooh... Someone's jealous, huh?" he replied, smirking.

"A little bit..."

"You have no reason to. I'm a dependable guy, I'm a dad, and... Guess what? I'm also getting married!" he winked at her.

"Then I'm lucky."

"I'm even luckier."

* * *

Later, when Hanna and Caleb had already gone to bed and were sleeping, a soft cry wake both of them up. He rubbed his eyes and gave a small smile at Hanna.

"I'll go." he whispered.

Hanna just smiled back at him as he got out of bed and walked to Liam's room.

An hour later, though, Caleb entered the bedroom again, but carrying a wide awake Liam with him. Hanna woke up again by the light noises, and smiled at her son.

"What's going on, little man?" she asked softly as he and Caleb slipped under the blankets next to her.

"There's a monster under my bed!" the kid whined.

Hanna turned to Caleb, who shrugged.

"Wanna sleep here tonight!" Liam continued.

Hanna stroked Liam's hair slightly and smiled again at him.

"Did you ask daddy, right?" she asked.

Liam nodded, then turned to Caleb, who nodded too and smiled at him to confirm that.

"Well, that's okay then. Where do you wanna sleep?" Hanna asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Middle! Between mommy and daddy!" he exclaimed happily.

"Of course." Caleb muttered jokingly.

Hanna smiled as Caleb and Liam settled down in bed.

"Now, little man... Under mommy and daddy's bed there are no monsters, so you can sleep without any problem." Caleb whispered to Liam then.

Liam pouted slightly.

"But, daddy, what if the monster comes here and eats me?" he asked scared.

Hanna and Caleb exchanged an amused look, then Caleb replied.

"Well, in that case... Daddy's gonna make him leave. He won't eat you, I promise. You don't have to worry about that."

Liam smiled up at him.

"Thank you, daddy." he told him.

Caleb kissed his forehead and smiled back at him. And Hanna smiled as well watching the small exchange between dad and son, rubbing Liam's cheek.

"But now try to sleep, baby. It's really late." she whispered.

"Okay, mommy. Night night." Liam whispered back.

"Goodnight, buddy." Caleb replied.

"Goodnight, little man." Hanna replied as well, kissing his forehead and then fixing the blankets around her son's little body.

"Goodnight to you too, big boy." she added softly, leaning in toward Caleb.

He smirked and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.

"Goodnight, babe." he whispered back before throwing his head on the pillow.

* * *

Hours later, Liam woke up once again, but luckily he didn't start to cry. Caleb was already awake, he hadn't been able to fall back asleep yet. He saw Liam open his eyes, and stroked his cheek lightly.

"Hey, little man... Go back to sleep, it's still night." he whispered to his son.

"Why you don't sleep, daddy?"

Caleb smiled.

"Well... I have to protect you and mommy from the monster." he replied then, still whispering not to wake Hanna up.

"Daddy protects us." Liam repeated.

Caleb smiled again, then took a deep breath before saying something else.

"That's right. But... I need to ask you something, little man. Can I?"

Liam nodded and looked at his daddy. Caleb took another deep breath and continued.

"Okay, listen up... Daddy will have to stay away from home for a while."

"Why, daddy?"

Caleb sighed.

"Because if I go where they told me to, when I'm back we will be able to buy the new house... The one near the park, do you remember that?" he continued.

Liam nodded, a little more enthusiastic now. Then, Caleb went on.

"And not only we will move to the new house, but we will do a lot of other things. Mommy and I will get married, for example. Maybe you don't know what it means, but... Well, we will do this big party and we will wear all beautiful clothes, you know? Anyway... I'll be back with a lot of presents for you and mommy, and I'll bring you new toys and dinosaurs and whatever else. But... I really need you to promise me something."

"What, daddy?"

"Liam... Daddy knows he can count on you. You have to protect mommy while I'm away, got it? I'll be far, and I won't be able to look after her, so... I want you to do it for me. And don't make her angry, alright? Listen to everything she tells you. Also... Mommy probably won't be really happy when I'm away. That's why you won't have to cry and whim. You will have to smile and make mommy smile, yeah? I know you can do these things. You just... You need to be a good little man, and I know you will. You promise to daddy, little man? Will you do this for me?"

Liam listened attentively to his dad, then he gave him a determined nod.

"Okay, daddy. I protect mommy and I be good. But then you come back?" the kid whispered.

Caleb smiled at his son's cuteness and nodded as well, stroking his hair slowly.

"Of course. Daddy will be back soon. But we have a pact between men now, right?" he asked him then.

"Right."

"Good. I love you, Liam."

"I love you too, daddy."

Caleb hugged his son and kissed his cheek.

"Now go back to sleep. I'll keep an eye open for the monster, don't worry, okay?" he whispered into his ear.

Liam nodded slightly and closed his eyes. Caleb looked at him and bit his lip as a single tear streamed down one of his cheeks.

He couldn't know that Hanna, who was lying with her back at the pair, was awake as well and had heard all of his dialogue with Liam. And he couldn't know that a tear had escaped from her eyes as well in that same moment, either.

* * *

**A/N: Hi people :) So, first of all everyone needs to thank Ed Sheeran because his song "Photograph" really inspired me to write this chapter and a lot of the following ones... It's such a beautiful lovely song that you guys should listen paying attention to its words :) I just love Ed, ugh :3 Then, a big big big thank you for your amazing support, that you all keep giving me reviewing and everything :) It really makes me happy to know you're into the story :D So... What do you think of this chapter? Honestly, it's one of my favorites because it's so cute and sweet...but also a little sad :( Anyway, I think you all got that Hanna is ready to let him go because she loves him and he wants to go because he loves her and Liam... It's all about love, right? ;) Did you enjoy the Caleb/Liam deep talk? Do you agree with Hanna's opinion? Review and let me know ;) Also... Get ready for the next chapter because it's gonna be pretty intense! Have a nice day and don't forget to smile :) Love! xx -Atramea.**


	12. Chapter 12

On Monday, Caleb said yes to Albaruenta. He signed the contract. He was officially leaving for Spain for fifty days.

When he came back home and found Hanna there, he sighed and sat on the couch next to her.

"I said yes." he murmured.

"And you did the right thing." she replied without looking at him.

Caleb gently turned her to him with an hand and spoke again.

"Hanna... I don't care if I signed a contract, ask me to stay and I will stay. You and Liam are my priority, everything else comes after. I'm accepting without knowing if I'm actually going to be able not to see you for all of those weeks. And everytime you spur me on to try, I can read into your eyes that you're making a huge effort. Babe, if... If you don't feel like staying here without me, just tell me. Please."

"I'm gonna miss you, Caleb. It's clear that I don't like the idea of you going to the other side of the world, but... But once again, that's your big chance. And you need to take it. Don't hang back. Just promise me that you're gonna call me everyday."

He nodded, then hugged her the tightest he could.

* * *

The following days flew away. And every single one of those days, Caleb looked at Hanna and wanted to call Albaruenta to cancel everything. But then she pounded away. She didn't want him to screw everything up, even though she knew it wasn't going to be easy.

The night before leaving, after packing, Caleb personally made Liam fall asleep, knowing that he was going to see him again fifty days later. It was his way to say him goodbye. Once the kid was fast asleep, Caleb photographed that moment and printed it into his mind so that he could take it with him to Spain. He closed Liam's room door with a few tears into his eyes, and walked to his own bedroom, then he climbed on the bed next to Hanna. Without saying anything, he hugged her tightly and finally gave in, crying. She held him with an arm wrapped around his back and the other around his neck, stroking his hair through her fingers. He calmed down after a few seconds, and only then he looked into her eyes.

"I'm gonna miss you guys..." he murmured, briefly touching her lips with his fingers.

Then, Hanna couldn't help but start crying as well. She had been able not to cry in front of Caleb for all of those days, but in that moment she just lost it. Caleb sighed deeply and held her into his arms again.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered against his now wet shirt.

"For what?"

"For making you see me this way, I absolutely didn't want to... You already have a thousand restrains on your own, and now I also act this way..." she mumbled against his shoulder.

"Shhh... Hanna, even if you hadn't broken down, I would have known that you were feeling this way anyway... Besides you don't have to fear to cry in front of me... You silly girl!" he gently told her as he stroked her hair.

"Yeah... Just a silly girl could love so much an idiot like you..."

"You're totally right." he said, holding her tighter.

"I'm gonna miss you so much..." she sobbed between tears.

Caleb searched for her lips and connected them to his ones, as the tears kept falling down from both of their eyes. He took her clothes off slowly, in order to make that moment last the longest possible. One button a time of her blouse as she slid his shirt off. Her pants were off, her bra was off. And then also his jeans were off. Caleb found himself on top of her, who was still weakly crying. He kissed her gently, as he slipped her lace panties down. He made them slightly touch her thighs through all their way down, still slowly, then he threw them to the floor. Then he took his boxers off as well and sank his mouth into Hanna's. They crossed each other's gazes and locked eyes. Hanna moved an hand over his mouth and then went to his cheeks to wipe his tears, so he did the same. It was then that, still making eye-contact, she slowly opened her legs for him and crossed them behind his back. Caleb placed his forehead against hers and finally pushed himself into her flawless body. Hanna jumped off slightly, so he held both of her hands in his and restarted thrusting. He stopped for a few seconds just to kiss her, to taste her hot mouth, to smell her fresh scent, to feel the softness of her skin, to listen to her light panting. Their bodies joined together kept taking from each other and giving to each other until a feeling of extreme pleasure filled them both completely, at the same time. Caleb squeezed Hanna's hands with all of his strength and Hanna squeezed them back, then he collapsed on top of her, breathing heavily.

He had given all of himself to her, in an assolute way, because he knew they would have to wait a long time before feeling each other again so passionately. Then, he pulled himself up on his elbows and slid outside of her, rolling over and lying on the mattress next to her. Still panting like her, he dragged Hanna closer to him with his arm, gently hugging her, then he pulled the blankets up making sure they could cover both of them at least till their waists. He kissed her forehead and gently caressed her shoulder with his fingers, without daring to say anything not to ruin that moment so perfect. She didn't say anything either, she just rubbed her hand up and down his chest and abdomen, enjoying the moment.

* * *

Caleb barely slept. Actually, he didn't sleep at all. He watched Hanna sleep, even though the truth was that she had just her eyelids closed, but she didn't sleep either.

The alarm went off at half past six in the morning. Hanna and Caleb went downstairs to have breakfast. She was going to accompany him to the airport, of course. Ashley was going to be there soon to keep an eye on Liam. Caleb didn't dare open the room of the kid again, because he feared that he wouldn't have been capable of leaving then. When Ashley came, Caleb hugged her and said her goodbye. He was really attached to her. And then, he took Hanna by the hand and exited the house, dragging his suitcase behind his back and closing the front door. He was about to put his luggages into the trunk of his car when Ezra and Aria showed up with their car. Ezra pulled the driver window down and smirked.

"C'mon, put your luggages in there, man! We're driving you to the airport!" he said.

Caleb smiled and did what he had been told to, then he and Hanna hopped in the rear seats. Once they were inside, he briefly hugged Ezra and quickly kissed Aria on the cheek.

"You really thought we weren't going to say goodbye?" The girl asked.

"I didn't think the time of my flight was really comfortable for you guys." Caleb smiled.

Ezra chuckled slightly and started the engine of the car.

"You knew?" Caleb asked Hanna.

"Of course I knew..." she replied, winking to Aria.

Caleb approached Hanna and kissed her gently.

"Give the little man a big kiss when he wakes up..." he whispered after that, moving a strand of her hair off her face.

She nodded and cuddled up against his chest. At some point throughout the ride, Aria said something.

"Oh, Caleb... In something like a month, there's Emma's birthday party... We'd be happy if you manage to come back for it... I think that's a really good excuse to come back to LA, right?"

"Sure, I'll do whatever I can. I want to be here for the little princess, even if actually, if it was for me, I'd come back every weekend." Caleb replied, holding Hanna closer to him.

Shortly after, they arrived to the airport and Ezra parked the car.

"Is everyone coming inside?" Caleb asked opening his door.

"Of course." Aria smiled.

They walked to the check-in and then it was the moment to say goodbye. Aria was the first one. She threw her arms around Caleb's neck and hugged him tightly.

"Be a good guy, I recommend you. And make them see what you're worth!" she whispered into his ear.

Caleb kissed her cheek.

"Don't worry, I'll do my best. Stay close to her." he replied, eventually nodding toward Hanna.

Aria nodded, then pulled away and went next to Hanna, taking her hand. Then it was Ezra who hugged Caleb.

"Don't be an ass!" he told him.

"Shut up, man!" Caleb laughed, patting Ezra's back.

Ezra pulled away and held Caleb's hand before walking to Aria and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Then, Aria let go of Hanna's hand and walked a few feets away with her husband. Caleb and Hanna locked eyes, and she suddenly started crying, silently.

"Hey, don't you wanna say me goodbye?" he asked her, biting his lip trying not to cry as well, since seeing her that way destroyed him.

Hanna bit her lip as well and wrapped her arms around his back, placing her head against his chest and holding him tightly to her. He linked his arms behind her waist and left a few kisses on the top of her head.

"My babe..." he whispered with croaky voice, feeling the warmth of Hanna's sobs push against his shirt.

He waited a minute for her to calm down a little, then he took her face between his hands and wiped her tears away.

"I'm sorry..." she mumbled, placing her own hands on top of his ones, still on her face.

"You don't have to be sorry for anything. Listen to me... Anything you need or you just wanna tell me, you call me, okay? Whatever time it is... Plus, we're also in different time zones, so..." he added, trying to earn a smile from her.

She made a small one, a little sad too, but he thought it was enough.

"Don't worry, though, I'm gonna call you too. I'm gonna need to hear your voice very often..." he continued.

"As soon as you land, let me know. The weather is not really good, you could meet some turbulences, and—"

"Babe, it's not my first flight. Relax. However, of course I'll let you know." he interrupted her, smiling.

"Be careful, please."

"Don'worry, they're gonna treat me well, I'm not going to fight for a war. Be careful you too, and once again, call me for anything. And don't forget to give Liam a kiss for me."

"I'll give him, don't worry."

"And... Will you give one to me now?" he added as a single tear streamed down his right cheek.

Hanna smiled softly and lifted her head toward Caleb's, placing her lips on his.

"I love you." he whispered in her ear then.

"I love you too."

"I really have to go now." he said, looking over the flights board.

"Sure. C'mon, you're gonna miss your flight..."

"One last hug, come here..." he told her, spreading his arms once again.

Hanna threw herself into them, looping her own arms behind his neck. They kissed multiple times into their hug, also trying to wipe each other's tears away.

"I'm gonna miss your smell..." she said, rubbing her nose over his throat.

"There's that black sweater of mine home, I left it there, in my drawer. Just put it on if you miss my smell, okay?" he replied, kissing her forehead.

"Okay." she replied, pulling away and taking his hands in hers.

"Alright, I'm gonna go. But I promise you that I'm going to come back here everytime I can, even if it's just for a few hours. Okay?"

"Of course it's okay. C'mon, just go now."

"Fine... Bye."

"Bye."

Caleb motioned a smile, and then grabbed her hips to pull her to him and gave her one last kiss, a longer and deeper kiss. Then, he kissed her hand before letting go of it, mouthing an 'I love you', and he finally turned around. He dragged his suitcase behind his back and disappeared through the airport.

* * *

**A/N: Hello everyone :) Sorry for the late, exams' fault :( so, just to let you know, I'm not a huge Ezria —or Ezra either— supporter, but for once I thought about trying another friendship other than Caleb/Toby, so... That's it :) Then, I'm really happy about your reviews to the last chapter :D Seriously, I'm very glad you enjoyed the Caleb/Liam scene :) A special thanks to the guest who reviewed writing me a thanks for putting so much thought and details into my updates... That really touched me, seriously, you're so kind... Thank YOU :) And everyone else too, of course ;) Well, then... Caleb's officially leaving :O This means that the drama has begun :P Next chapter Caleb's going to meet some people from the cast... Two actresses, actually ;) And I hope you're gonna like where this story is heading ;) Soooo... I hope the Haleb goodbye of this chapter wasn't too sweet, too trivial or too heartbreaking, so let me know if you liked it, hated it or whatever, it really means a lot to me to know about your opinions... Also, I'm gonna update GoW too asap, I promise ;) That's all for now :) Thank you guys so much for your amazing support and for reading, of course ;) Love you all! xx -Atramea.**


	13. Chapter 13

The flight lasted how it was supposed to last, a little more than eleven hours. Caleb took off from Los Angeles at half past seven in the morning, landing in Madrid at a quarter to four am, due to the time zone —in Spain it was nine hours later than LA—. Once there, Caleb took a private jet hired out by Albaruenta for him to reach Benidorm, the beach city where the set was.

As soon as he took his seat on board, he called Hanna, who picked up after just one ring, like she was just waiting for him to call her.

"Caleb?"

"Hi, babe..."

"Everything okay?"

"Yes, everything okay. I've landed safe and sound. Now I'm on the jet Albaruenta sent me to reach the city where the movie will be shot. Are you at work?"

"Yeah, Laura told me to wish you good luck..."

"Thank her. Liam?"

"He's home with my mom, I finish my shift and then I'm going back to him."

"Good. How are you?"

"Fine... Right now I'm fine. I keep my mind busy here at work, trying not to think that you're in the other side of the world..."

Caleb stayed silent for a few seconds, then replied.

"Hanna, it's gonna be fine. Time will pass."

"Yeah, it will. Sorry, I gotta go now."

"Sure, I'll call you later. Say hi to Aria and Ezra when you talk to them, and give the little man a kiss, of course."

"Okay, talk to you later."

"Wait."

"What?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"Bye."

"Bye."

He hung up sighing. Hanna had sounded rather sad to him.

* * *

Caleb reached Benidorm in a couple of hours, more or less, and he finally arrived to his hotel. His room was really nice, the place was wonderful and he could also see the sea from his balcony. He slept for a little and then, when it was nine in the morning, he went to the place which Albaruenta had told him. There was gonna be the meeting with the cast and rest of the crew of the movie.

It was a large room, and it looked like there was sort of a brunch party. Suddenly, Caleb saw Albaruenta who came closer to him with a girl by his side.

"Good morning, mr Rivers." the man smiled at him.

"Please call me Caleb, sir. Good morning to you too." Caleb replied politely, shaking Albaruenta's hand.

"Fine, Caleb. I hope you had a safe flight."

"Yeah, it was nice. Thank you."

"So... CeCe, this is Caleb Rivers, one of the effects crew new members. Caleb, this is Cecilia Drake, she's gonna be the main actress of our cast." Albaruenta continued, placing an hand on the girl's shoulder.

"You can call me CeCe." she introduced herself, holding her hand out toward Caleb.

"Caleb. Nice to meet you, CeCe." he replied, shaking her hand as well.

"Likewise." she smiled at him.

The girl was really beautiful. She had tanned skin, long curly blonde hair and a pair of shiny green eyes.

"So... Are you American too?" Caleb asked, letting go of her hand.

"Canadian, actually."

"Well, that's fine too. I was worried I had to learn Spanish to talk with someone around here." Caleb chuckled.

CeCe laughed slightly too. Albaruenta then explained to Caleb that the movie would be filmed in English, and that the cast was almost fully composed by American actors. Caleb seemed relieved to learn about that. Then, another girl approached the three and Albaruenta introduced her to Caleb as well.

"Caleb, this is Alison DiLaurentis, another one of our actresses, American like you. Alison, this is Caleb Rivers, a new entry of the effects crew."

Caleb offered his hand to the other girl, who shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Caleb." she smiled.

"Nice to meet you too, Alison." Caleb replied.

"You know, I would have thought you were one of the actors if Manuel hadn't just introduced us." she continued, letting go of his hand.

"I guess that's a compliment?" Caleb smiled.

"Yeah, I meant that you look like an actor."

Caleb started feeling a little embarassed. Albaruenta laughed and patted him on his shoulder.

"Girls, slow down with him, okay? He's engaged and he also has a little son waiting for him in Los Angeles." the man said, grinning.

"Oh, seriously?" Alison sounded surprised.

"Yeah, that's true." Caleb smiled, thinking about Hanna and Liam.

"How old is your son?" CeCe asked then.

"He's two. Here..." Caleb replied, then pulled his wallet out of the pocket of his jacket and showed the girls a picture of him with Hanna and Liam which he had in it.

The two girls looked at the picture. Caleb, however, noticed they had two different reactions. While CeCe was all smiling at the picture, Alison looked like she had just seen a ghost. She stared at the picture with this weird look into her eyes.

"Caleb, your kid is so cute! And your fiancé looks gorgeous, seriously." CeCe commented.

"Thanks." Caleb smiled.

"Yeah, CeCe's right. What are their names?" Alison asked then.

"Hanna and Liam." Caleb replied absent-mindedly, putting the picture back to where it was.

"Listen, Caleb... You and your girl have both grown in LA?" Alison asked again.

Caleb raised an eyebrow at her weird question as he put his wallet back into the pocket of his jacket.

"Well... I grew up in San Diego, actually. And Hanna grew up in Pennsylvania, in Rosewood, a small town near Philadelphia. Anyway when we first met in LA, we both had already been living there for a while." he replied.

CeCe glanced over at Alison at some point throughout Caleb's answer, but Alison ignored her.

"Is everything alright?" Caleb finally asked, feeling some tension.

"Yeah. Just tell your fiancé she's a really lucky girl." Alison smiled.

"Oh... Okay, sure. Thanks." Caleb replied.

After that, they just fell into a long conversation, jumping between different topics. Actually, the one who spoke the most was Alison. She talked about everything and nothing while CeCe stayed rather quiet. Caleb then met other actors and crew members. They had lunch all together, and they were gonna start working on that same day.

* * *

After lunch, Caleb called Hanna, who picked up after a few rings.

"Hello?"

"Babe, it's me..."

"Hey... How are you doing?"

"Good, I guess. I met the cast and the crew, we've just finished having lunch. They seem nice people. What are you doing?"

"It's half past six in the morning here. I'm still in bed."

"Shit, that's right... I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" Caleb groaned, rubbing his forehead.

"No, you didn't, don't worry. It feels weird not to have you here next to me. I can't sleep, so I was just waiting for you to call, actually."

Caleb bit his lip.

"I'm sorry, Han. But you could've called me, maybe I could've made you sleep humming you a lullaby or something." he told her with a small smile on his face.

Hanna laughed slightly and Caleb's heart grew bigger hearing that sound.

"Stupid. You're gonna wake Liam up if you make me laugh again." she said then.

"The little man's there with you?" Caleb asked, smiling.

"Yeah, he's sleeping. Yesterday he asked about you at least fourty times..."

Caleb sighed.

"Give him a kiss when he wakes up." he added.

"Okay."

"I... I miss you guys already."

"We miss you too, babe."

Caleb stayed silent just listening to Hanna's soft breathing through the phone for a few seconds before saying something else.

"Hey, I made a couple of cast members see a picture of Liam, you and I earlier, and there's this actress, Alison DiLaurentis, who told me to tell you that you're a really lucky girl, you know?"

Hanna stayed silent. Caleb thought the line had gone off.

"Han? Are you still there?" he asked after a few seconds of deep silence.

Then he heard Hanna let out a long breath.

"Thank her on my behalf. Is she beautiful?" she replied then.

She seemed totally pissed, and Caleb couldn't really figure out why.

"Uhm... Does it matter?" he asked perplexed.

"Answer!" she snapped.

"Yeah, she's kind of hot, I think I could cheat on you with her without any problems."

"Fuck you, Caleb."

"Babe, I'm joking... What do you want me to say? She's beautiful, yes. But, what is it, you don't trust me? It's full of beautiful women here, but I couldn't care less."

"I hope so."

"Hanna, are you kidding me or what?"

"No, I'm not kidding you. It just... It bothers me, okay?"

"If you love me, you should trust me. Why did you let me leave then?"

"Don't rub it on my face."

"I'm not rubbing it on your face. It's just that, shit, it's just my first day here and you're already..."

"I'm already _what_?"

"You're already doubting on me. You're just freaking out, Han. Like you were just freaking out when you thought I was cheating on you while actually I was just planning a surpirse for you. I asked you to marry me before leaving, do you think I'm not enough in love with you? Do you think I could look at other women knowing you are in LA with my son in your arms? You should know it's not like that, you should know that you're the only one for me. You should know _me_!"

"I know you indeed. And you like women, maybe even too much."

"That's true, I absolutely do like women. But I _love_ just one woman. And that's you. Look, I'm sorry, but if you really have all of these doubts, you should have told me before I left."

"Sure, now it's me the one who went wrong. Have a nice day, Caleb. Make sure to say hi to Alison for me."

Caleb was about to reply but Hanna hung up on his face. She had made him this huge jealousy scene, and Caleb really couldn't figure out why. Everything was obviously magnified by the fact that she was stressed, that she couldn't see him. But having those fights with her always gave Caleb so much annoyance. However, he tried to relax and promised himself he would call her again in the evening.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys :) So, here's the next chapter. I'm really glad you found the previous one emotional, that was my intention ;) Your reviews were incredible as always, and all of the compliments you made to me seriously make me happy :) Thank you so much, I will always tell you. And I'm obviously glad that you're enjoying the story and that you wanna see what's happening next, so... Both Alison and CeCe are gonna play a big role in this story. But, after reading your comments, I wanted to clarify that I always try to make Hanna and Caleb in character in all of my stories, even if they're AUs, so... Do you guys think Caleb could ever cheat on Hanna? I don't think so, and since I'm for the IC...do you really think I could make Caleb do something like that —also given my absolute love for Haleb—? ;) Well, then I guess you have your answer :P Anyway, what do you think of Alison? Why Hanna got so mad when Caleb told her about Ali? Yeah, there's something going on here... ;) And what about CeCe? I'm very curious to read your opinions :3 Anyway don't freak out over that fight by phone, I promise it's nothing too bad :) And oh, yeah, for those who're wondering, yes, Benidorm actually exist, it's a real Spanish city. So, I'm looking forward to read your reviews... I love reading them :D Hoping you've enjoyed reading the chapter, I wish you a nice day and I'm just going to sleep because it's almost 3 am here in Italy... So, yeah, when I wake up I hope to read a lot of reviews with your thoughts, theories and everything :D Until next time, love you guys! xx -Atramea.**


	14. Chapter 14

In the afternoon, Caleb attended the shooting of the first few scenes of the movie. Both CeCe and Alison seemed really good at acting. He also gave some advice for the cameras, which Albaruenta appreciated a lot. When the scenes were done, in the late afternoon, he actually started his first day of work. He and the rest of the crew applied the effects on the scenes, both audio and video, and other few technical things until the scenes came out practically perfect. Caleb enjoyed a lot the whole thing.

They finished everything by dinner time, so they went eating all together once again. And then, around midnight, Caleb left the restaurant where they were, walking to one of Benidorm's beaches. It was wonderful, the sand was almost white and the sea was crystalline, and it was desert too. Caleb was the only one there, also given it was midnight.

He leaned by a small fishing boat which was beached on the foreshore and pulled his mobile out, calling Hanna. It just went to the voicemail. It was three in the afternoon in LA, Hanna was probably at work. But it was also possible that she had denied the call, because maybe she was still pissed at him. Caleb left a message to her voicemail begging her to call him back as soon as she would get that, then he lightened up a cigarette, feeling pretty nervous. He took a couple of drags before hearing a voice coming from behind him.

"What are you doing here all alone?"

He turned around. It was CeCe.

"Nothing, I'm just trying to calm down a little. You want?" he replied, opening his pack of cigarettes to offer her one.

"Thanks... Why do you need to calm down, though? I guess the anxiety's gone by now, the first day's over, isn't it?" she said, taking a cigarette from his pack.

Caleb lightened up her cigarette for her with his lighter, then he took a drag from his one and replied.

"No, everything's fine here. It's not about the movie."

"Then what is it? Do you wanna talk about that?"

"It's just my fiancé... It's like she doesn't trust me, and she's jealous because I'm here with a lot of beautiful women... The fact that she doesn't totally trust me just drives me crazy, you know?"

"I get it. You love her, huh?"

Caleb smiled before replying.

"To death."

"How long have you been together?"

"Well... It's been over four years by now."

"Wow..."

"What? Do you think it's much time?"

"Well, yeah. Even if you're talking to someone who doesn't understand pretty much anything about love."

"Why is that?"

"I... I don't believe in love. Everytime I think I found the right guy, something happens and I realize that he wasn't the right guy at all. I'm twenty-five and I've only racked up failures... I've never had a love story."

"Look... You don't have not to believe in love just because you haven't found it yet."

"Easy for you to say. You found it and you still have it, you even have a child... If neither you believed in love, then who would?"

"Don't take it for granted. It's not like that. You know, before meeting Hanna, I didn't believe in love either. I thought it was just a human invention to see the world less bad. I thought that actually it didn't exist, that it was just a huge hoax. Only with her, I changed my mind. If you're cynical like me, when you meet the right person, you'll change idea and you'll realize that love exists, exactly like I did. However... My fiancé and I haven't really had an easy relationship, but I think that we've always made it right because we've never stopped believing in love, in _our_ love."

"Sure, being still together after four years must mean something."

"Yeah."

"Can I... Can I ask you how you two met?"

Caleb smiled and took a drag from his cigarette before replying.

"Of course. Well... The very first time, it was when I was working as a clerk in a mall, in an electronic store. Hanna came there with a friend of hers, they were looking for a birthday present for a kid. I just... I just got struck by her. She was so beautiful... I remember that her friend had to go out of the store because of a phone call at some point, so I stayed alone with her for a little while. So... While I was wrapping the present they had chosen, we had a little chat. Nothing in particular, you know. But we ended up asking if the other was taken, yeah. I don't know how, it's not the kind of question you ask someone you just met, right? Well, I know we did. Then, her friend returned inside, I gave her the pack, she paid, and that was all. I said them goodbye, and I though I was never gonna see Hanna again, because you know how much big LA is, but... But then she got a job in the clothing shop downstairs, in the same mall. So... It started. We first kissed during a party organized by the mall, and then everything happened. At first, actually, we both just wanted to have fun, but then she started feeling something. She told me, and I acted like the king of assholes. I wanted to run away, because I felt uncomfortable with the whole thing, because I had never been in love before. But I eventually understood that I was just scared as hell because I loved her. Then she forgave me and we decided to see where our 'thing' was gonna take us. And, well... Two years later, we had a kid, so..."

Caleb had this cute little smile plastered on his face while talking about Hanna that CeCe didn't miss. She smiled back at him and nodded.

"I guess it will be hard not to see them for these weeks..." she said then.

Caleb sighed at that.

"Yeah, it already is. You know, I accepted this job because I think that could be a good opportunity. And also because with the money earned I want to buy a new and bigger house for me, Hanna and Liam, because... We're planning on expanding the family." he replied, eventually grinning.

CeCe smiled again.

"That's awesome. I love kids, it must be wonderful to be parents." she commented then.

"Believe me, it is. Would you like to have kids?"

"With the right man, yes." she replied, shrugging slightly.

"Would you like to get married as well?"

"Of course. I think that's every woman's dream! Have you and Hanna already decided for a date?"

"Well, not yet. But... I can't wait to marry her."

CeCe looked at Caleb with a dreamy expression on her face, without saying anything.

"What?" Caleb asked then, throwing his cigarette away, over by now.

"Nothing. I was just thinking that you have a really beautiful life." she finally replied.

"Oh, well... You're right, I can't complain."

Then, she threw her cigarette away too and cleared her throat before saying something else.

"Anyway, I'm sorry... I'm asking you tons of questions about your private life without having any right to..."

He smiled slightly at her.

"Don't worry. If I answer your questions, it means that I have no problem to. But... Why don't you tell me a little about yourself? So far I only know you got thrashings in love!" he chuckled.

She smiled back and then replied.

"There's not much to say. I'm Canadian and I've played minor roles since I was twelve. This is my first actual big chance to hit the big time in the cinema world. I'd like to make acting my life. It has always been my biggest dream, and my parents have made a lot of sacrifices to make me be here today. I have to thank them because they've always been there for me. I have a lot of friends in Canada and my family, of course, but like I already told you, no love. That's all, I don't have anything special to tell you about me."

He smiled again at her, without saying anything.

"Anyway... I'm gonna leave you alone now, I've already stolen a lot of your time when you just wanted to stay a little on your own... I guess it's also time to go to sleep, so... I'll see you tomorrow." she said then.

"Sleep? No, I wouldn't manage tonight, I'm too nervous because of my argument with Hanna... But, c'mon, don't leave. It's nice to talk with you, you seem okay and reliable. If you're not too tired, of course."

CeCe looked at Caleb, surprised. She roamed an hand through her long hair and then nodded.

"No, I'm not tired either. Alright, I'll stay, you know, it's nice to talk with you too. Do you want something to drink? There's some pub around here..." she added then.

"Deal." he replied, smiling.

* * *

The two walked for a little and then they got to the pub. It was pretty nice, and there also was some good latin music. They took their seats at the counter, ordering two Cosmopolitans. The two cocktails were quickly served, then they restarted chatting.

"You already knew someone of the cast?" Caleb asked her.

"No, but I remember Alison from the auditions. I didn't speak to her back then, but when I saw her here I remembered her. She seems okay, though."

"Yeah, she does."

"You didn't know anyone either?"

"No. Only Albaruenta, clearly. But there's this girl, I think her name is CeCe, who is very nice. You know her?" he joked, laughing slightly.

She smiled, then she took a sip from her glass and replied.

"No, I don't. But... Well, there's this Caleb guy who's nothing bad either. He has such a wonderful smile..."

They locked eyes for a long moment.

Caleb suddenly felt a pang into his stomach. He felt guilty to be there with that girl. He thought about Hanna and felt awfully guilty, even though it wasn't like he was doing something bad. He istinctively lowered his head. He was ashamed, he felt like he was doing a wrong thing toward Hanna, he thought that maybe at heart she was right being that jealous knowing that he was so far from her. _And_ with a girl, who wasn't ugly at all.

"Sorry." CeCe added, visibly embarassed by his reaction.

Caleb threw down his beverage in just one long sip before asking the bartender for another one.

"Caleb, I don't think it's the case..." she murmured then.

He didn't say anything else after that, he just glanced up at her and then drank the second cocktail, then he asked for some vodka, and then who knows what else, under CeCe's wide eyes.

He didn't get up and leave. He just started drinking. Maybe because it was the easiest way not to miss Hanna, not to feel guilty, not to think about anyhthing...at least for a while.

* * *

**A/N: Here I am! Sorry for making you wait so long, I know, I know :/ So... I hope you all understand that Caleb just talked and went for a drink with CeCe in this chapter... I mean, he's there alone and she has been nice with him, they just talked, also mostly about Hanna –was it cute when he resumed their love story?– :) So don't start freaking out, he's not doing anything bad and he always loves Hanna, I hope you all agree with me, yeah? :) Again, cheating is absolutely NOT Caleb's thing u.u That being said, though, when CeCe's the one who made a comment a little too nice, he immediately feels guilty. He's not doing anything wrong but he feels guilty anyway, because he loves Hanna and their little fight is still there bugging him. I know the final part of the chapter can sound a little random, but I imagined Caleb with all of that pressure, away from Hanna and Liam, sitting with a beautiful girl who seems to appreciate him, knowing Hanna is freaking jealous for some reason that he doesn't really understand... He feels bad for all of these things put together so, since he finds himself in a pub, he just tries to drink his thoughts away, that's it. I hope I was clear :) And I can't wait to find out what's your opinion on CeCe now :P Oookay, so... You'll find out soon about Hanna and Ali, basically all of you guessed correctly in the reviews ;) but I'm gonna enter the details when it's the moment so that you can totally understand why Hanna feels so bad at the thought of Ali ;) And I promise you a cute Haleb phone call for the next chapter :D Also, welcome to the new readers! Thanks for your amazing support, guys. Seeing the number of views, follows and favorites along with your amazing reviews always makes me happy. I hope the story will keep intriguing you :) Let me know what you guys think of the chapter and check my other story as well, I updated that too a couple of hours ago :) Also, if you have any doubt or anything about the story, feel free to tell me. Review, PM, whatever. Anything, okay? :) So, that's all for now. Thanks for reading and for always being here. Love you guys, until next time! xx -Atramea.**


	15. Chapter 15

Caleb didn't remember much of that night. Just a splitting headache when he opened his eyes.

He found himself only clad in his underwear in an hotel room... But it wasn't his one. He turned around slightly in the bed where he was lying and saw CeCe, in the same bed, dressed in nothing but a gown, asleep.

He froze.

He started sweating, he didn't know what to do. He glanced at the alarm on the nightstand, which signed almost six in the morning, and tried to get up from the bed. It wasn't easy, he barely could stand on his feet because of the hangover, but he eventually managed to. He picked up from a small sofa his clothes, which smelt like alcohol as hell, he quickly put them on and then exited the room. He walked to his one, since they were in the same hotel, a few floors above, and climbed on his bed.

He was upset.

Maybe it had happened. Maybe he had slept with CeCe. He was completely drunk, that girl was gorgeous, he was nervous because of his fight with Hanna, and the fact that he had woken up half-naked on CeCe's bed was pretty compromising. He would have never done something like that to Hanna, never, but what could he think when he had woken up in a situation like that?

He started crying against the pillow. He felt like an idiot. He might have ruined his whole life because of a stupid drunken night.

He stayed like that for a while, until he heard someone knocking on the door. He opened it and found CeCe standing there. He froze on the doorway, then she spoke.

"Hey... Did you manage to get up and come here on your own?"

"CeCe, I wasn't in myself, I was drunk as hell, it didn't have to happen. Just forget everything, I'm in love with Hanna, I'm getting married, don't take any offence, but—"

She cut his rant off.

"Caleb, we didn't have sex. Don't worry."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, you misunderstood. Last night you started drinking over and over, and I didn't know how to make you stop. You even threw the last cocktail into your lap. I eventually convinced the bartender not to serve you anymore. You weren't understanding anything and you couldn't even walk because of your drunkness, so I just walked with you to the hotel. The elevator is broken, so I took advantage of the fact that my room is on the first floor, this way I avoided you some other stairs. That's why I took you to my room. I took your clothes off just because they were soaked of alcohol, and it was still difficult, you kept saying I couldn't take your clothes off because you were engaged and your fiancé was very jealous. However, I did it and I lied you down on the bed. I wanted to go to sleep in your room to avoid any misunderstandings, but I couldn't find your keys. I looked for them into the pocket of your jeans but I didn't find them, then I didn't want to rummage anywhere else, so I just lied down at the corner of the bed, hoping not to disturb you. And when I woke up, you were gone. That's what happened, nothing else."

Caleb felt definitely relieved. He sighed deeply before replying.

"Oh, thank God... I... I'm so sorry, CeCe... I don't drink so much, I'm not the kind of guy who gets himself drunk, at least not anymore, last night I just got carried away because I was nervous. I'm sorry if you had to see me that pathetic way and also if I gave you trouble... I was such an idiot, we were having a nice night and I ruined everything... I'm really sorry."

"It doesn't matter, don't worry. Anyway, it was cute when you tried to stop me from undressing you telling me you were engaged... You're in love even when you're drunk." she smiled at him.

"Holy shit..." he laughed, rubbing his eyes.

"However, you should know that even if you had tried to get yourself laid with me while you were drunk, I wouldn't have indulged you... After everything you told me about Hanna, after seeing the way your eyes sparkled while talking about her, I would have never done it. Yeah, you're a good-looking guy, but you have a wonderful fiancé whom you love so much, besides you were drunk and...I don't grant myself at the first date!" she concluded, eventually chuckling.

Caleb laughed along with her and then replied.

"Thanks, CeCe. I owe you big time."

"Don't worry, seriously. Just think about making up with Hanna. I'll see you later, we're starting to shoot at four 'o clock. Get some sleep."

"Fine. Bye, thanks again."

"Bye."

Caleb smiled at CeCe one last time before closing the door. He climbed again on bed and grabbed his mobile. It was eight in the morning, so it was eleven pm in LA. Hanna hadn't call him back for the whole day, despite his messages left to her voicemail. He decided to try to call her once again. He knew she was usually still awake at eleven. After several rings, she finally picked up.

"Hello?"

"Finally, Han... I was about to hang up..."

She sighed before replying.

"I... I didn't know if I wanted to accept the call."

"Why? Why, Hanna? Why haven't you called me back?" Caleb asked then.

"Because I'm nervous, Caleb. Maybe it's easier for you, but being apart for me is a torture. It's just the second day, and if I think that there are still fourty-eight days left, I just... It destroys me. Last night I didn't sleep at all, so I tried to sleep this afternoon after work but I couldn't, and not just because we had a fight, but also because I can't sleep if you're not lying next to me. Maybe it was easy for you to sleep, but it wasn't for me."

Caleb chewed on his inner cheek and sighed deeply before replying.

"It was extremely easy for me, you're right."

"See? You don't give a shit about the fact that we're miles apart from each other! I'm the stupid one here, that's clear!" she snapped.

"It was easy for me to sleep because I got drunk as hell, Hanna. I was nervous, and I just... I went to some pub and I don't even remember how many glasses I drank. I felt like shit, and I still do because I miss you, even if it's just the second day, like you said. I'm sorry if yesterday I talked like that, I could probably have saved it. But believe me, I can't stand the idea that you're mad at me while miles and miles far away from me. We fight when we're home together as well, but that's different because since we're there together we just end up making love in five minutes time forgetting even the reason why we were fighting... But this way it's different. This way it hurts. It hurts to call you and not being answered, it hurts not to know what to do to make up, it hurts to know that you're mad at me. I miss you, and if I could, I'd be back right today. Please, forgive me for being so idiot, I'm sorry, I'm a mess. But forgive me, because otherwise I'll end up smoking two packs of cigarettes and drinking three bottles of vodka a day. I'm a mess, that's true, but I love you and I don't want you to be pissed at me, especially if I can't make it up looking into your eyes. And please, trust me, I would never cheat on you. Never. With no one. I could never do that. You and the little man are my life, you don't have to forget that. I want to marry you, I would never do something this bad to you. You don't have to doubt on that. Babe, please...let's just make up."

Caleb heard a light sobbing on the other line, and his heart squeezed. He bit hard on his lip waiting for her reply.

"I hate fighting with you, and it's even worse by phone. But I love making up with you, even if it's not so good by phone, because I can't jump on you and kiss you everywhere..." she murmured softly.

He smiled a little at that.

"Am I forgiven?" he asked.

"It's me the one who should be forgiven, Caleb. After just one day I literally attacked you because you were talking about a girl just to tell me that she thinks I'm lucky... And she's right. It's just that I'm nervous, and when I'm nervous I just become this fucking jealous bitch... _I _am sorry. I really didn't want us to fight, even if it looked like I almost wanted to, but believe me, it's not like that. It sucks not being able to make up face to face... But I hope this may be enough to do it now."

"Don't apologize, everything's okay. But please, answer my calls because otherwise I freak out, alright?"

"Alright, I promise. But don't get drunk again, please."

"Believe me, after last night's experience I really think I'm not gonna do that, ever again."

Hanna stayed quiet for a few seconds.

"I love you." she whispered then.

Caleb needed to hear that. He smiled again.

"I love you too, babe. As soon as they say we can have a day off, I'm gonna be back, I promise. I want to see you and Liam as soon as possible."

"We'll be waiting for you. You know, he's drawing crosses on the calendar we have in the kitchen to countdown the days to your return. He draws this cross and then he looks like the happiest kid in the world... Because he knows that every cross he draws is a day less for his daddy to come back home. Drawing that cross has become his favorite moment of the day, I think. It's the first thing that he does after waking up in the morning. So, if you manage to come back even before his last cross, I can't imagine how happy he will be."

Caleb felt his jaw stiffen and closed his eyes, swallowing a lump in his throat. Imaging Liam do that just made him want to cry. Then he breathed out deeply from his nostrils, holding it back, and finally replied.

"I fucking need to hug my little man."

Hanna sighed.

"Hey, c'mon... I know it's hard, but... Stay strong, we're doing that too. You know, Liam also wants the new house when you come back, so you'd better keep up your work there." she replied, trying to lighten up his mood.

He smiled slightly at that. She made it.

"Yeah, right. You're right." he whispered.

"Okay. Well, I... I'll just try to get some sleep now."

"Will you be able to?"

Hanna sighed.

"Probably not, but... Who knows, maybe tonight it goes better." she murmured then.

"Hey... You know what? I'd need some good sleep too, so we... We'll just both go to bed right now but we'll stay at the phone trying to get it. This way... This way it will seem like we're closer. And... At least I can hear your breath... Even if just by phone, yeah, well... Still better than nothing." he replied sweetly.

Hanna smiled.

"Well... It won't be like you were here, but... You're right, still better than nothing." she said then.

"Okay, c'mon... Get under the blankets and lie down." he told her ad he did the same.

"This is such a cheesy thing, you know that?" she laughed as she settled herself down in bed.

"Oh, I perfectly know that. Okay, you done?"

"Yeah, done."

"Me too. Now... Close your eyes. I'm right there with you."

"That's not true."

Caleb chuckled slightly.

"Yeah, you're right, but... Try to _imagine_." he added then.

Hanna sighed. Then she got an idea. She reached out for one of the drawers of Caleb's nightstand where there was his black sweater. The one who smelt like him. She mumbled a 'wait' through the speaker as she put it on, then she lied back down and put the phone between her ear and her pillow.

"I've just put your sweater on. Now it feels a little more..._realistic_." she murmured then.

Caleb smiled.

"Good. Now try to close your eyes, again." he told her.

Hanna did it, grabbing one of the long sleeves of the sweater and gripping its hem into her fist, then she put it under her nose, so that she could smell Caleb's cologne.

"Done." she whispered.

"Better?"

"Maybe a little bit... Now close your eyes too."

"Okay, done."

"I'm right there with you too."

"I know. Liam's sleeping in his room?"

"Yeah... He was really tired today."

"And you're tired too. Try to get some sleep now, babe."

"Okay."

"Goodnight, I love you."

"I love you too. But don't hang up now."

"Hey, who do you think I am? I won't."

"Okay. Night."

And then, they spent the next two hours connected by a silent phone call, where their soft breathing was the only thing that could be heard. They both fell asleep at some point, but Caleb woke up after a couple of hours, realizing he was still on the phone with Hanna.

"Babe?" he whispered the softest he could.

No answer.

"Babe?" he tried again, still softly.

No answer, again. She was sound asleep. Caleb smiled.

"Sleep tight." he whispered again before finally closing the call.

* * *

**A/N: Hi guys :) Did the begin of this chapter scare you? xD Haha, I hope not :P What about CeCe, though? Do you guys like her or not? Keep "studying" her, all of her moves, because she's gonna play a big role in the story... Just be a little patient ;) And here's your Haleb phone call! Cute enough? :) I needed some Haleb cuteness since last chapter didn't have any Haleb scene, plus they absolutely needed to make up, didn't they? So, a little spoiler for you guys: in the next chapter Caleb will receive some good news :) and you will also find out a little more about Hanna/Ali! Anyway, I really want to thank you guys, as usual, for your incredible support. Seriously, it always means a lot, and I want you to know that I appreciate every single one of your words and everything :) That's why I'll be waiting to know what you think of this chapter too, feel free to write whatever you think ;) And to the ones who are following my other ff GoW too, I updated that yesterday. Oh, by the way, how cute was all that Tyshley stuff going on these last days? :3 I just love them, sorry not sorry :P Okay, that's all for now :) I'll try to update soon since you guys seem to enjoy the story :D Let me know, happy PLL day everyone! P.S. Please don't give me spoilers about tonight's episode in the reviews, I don't know when I'm gonna be able to watch it :) Love you guys! xx -Atramea.**


	16. Chapter 16

Days kept going away.

Alison, CeCe and anyone else became good friends to Caleb, while he missed Hanna every day more. He always called or facetimed her, he had also talked to Liam sometimes, and in those moments he couldn't help but give in to his tears.

But time passed, and the first month was gone.

And then, unexpectedly, Manuel Albaruenta announced that everyone could enjoy a free weekend. It was exactly the weekend of Emma's birthday. Caleb was happy as hell, he could finally come back to Los Angeles to Hanna and Liam, even just for a couple of days. He missed them so much and he had suffered a lot because of the distance. The phone calls and the texts were no longer enough to him, he wanted to look at Hanna, to touch her, to smell her scent, to be with her and, of course, to spend time with his little man as well.

When he learned about the free weekend, his first thought was to call Hanna and to give her the good news, but then he changed his mind. He wanted to surprise her. So, he decided to call Ezra instead, just to tell him that he was gonna be at Emma's birthday party but making him promise he would keep his mouth shut with Hanna but also with Aria, since Caleb wasn't really sure that Aria would have been able to keep his secret with her bestfriend.

He just hoped Hanna wasn't going to pass out when she would see him.

However, he hung up the phone happy, he really couldn't wait to be back home.

* * *

On Friday afternoon, they shot a few scenes and then Caleb and the effects crew made their work. They fixed everything in a couple of hours, and finally the work day was officially over. They even made it really early, so Caleb quickly checked the flight hours from his mobile, and managed to buy a last-minute ticket for the five 'o clock's one. He then rushed down the hallway of the studio with a big smile on his face, and met CeCe in front of the exit.

"Hey, Caleb! I was just thinking about going to some nice club which plays latin music around here to stay together, drink, dance and also relax a little this weekend, since we're free... What do you think? Are you in?" she grinned at him.

"I'm sorry, CeCe, I can't. I'm going to LA. This free weekend is a great chance to spend time with Hanna and Liam before restarting with the work." he smiled at her, shrugging slightly.

"Oh... Right, sure. Don't worry. You're doing the right thing going back even if it's just for the weekend, who knows when you'll be able to do it again..."

"Well, another twenty days and then we're going home. For good."

"You... You don't know that the shooting period could be extended?"

Caleb widened her eyes at her.

"What?" he asked then.

"Albaruenta said something about that, we could stay here for an extra month..."

"But... That's not possible. The contract said they were gonna be exactly fifty days of work..."

"Yeah, that's why they could make us sign a new one."

"But... Why are we supposed to stay here still for so long? We're in perfect time with the movie, I don't understand..."

"The Roja Film thought about splitting the movie in two episodes. The one which we've been shooting for these days is the first, for the rest of the time we should shoot the second one. Anyways, it's not a certain thing, plus I think that no one of us is obliged to take part in the second episode... You know, if you don't feel like doing that, just don't sign the new contract."

"I got it... Well, now I'd better not think about it. I'm going to pack, I think it's time to start getting ready. Thanks for telling me, though."

"No problem."

"So... I'll see you on Monday, right?" Caleb asked, smiling.

"Yeah, on Monday. Have a nice weekend." CeCe smiled back.

"You too."

Caleb briefly hugged CeCe and then ran to the hotel.

He had to be quick. He had already started packing from the day Albaruenta told them they would have the weekend free though, so he managed to get ready rapidly.

When he was about to exit the hotel for good, he bumped into Alison.

"Hey, Caleb... Where are you going in such a hurry?" she asked, raising an eyebrow seeing his suitcase.

"To the airport, I'm going back to Hanna for the weekend." Caleb smiled.

"Oh, I'm happy for you."

"Yeah, thanks. Hey, listen... Do you know anything about the extension of the shooting time?" he asked then.

"Uh, yeah, I heard something from Albaruenta. He told me and CeCe. I guess it wouldn't be easy for you if it was actually true..."

"Well, yeah, it would be pretty messed up. A month was already destroying to me not seeing Hanna and Liam... Plus I should start planning my wedding, I don't want to reschedule it over and over, and I'm pretty sure Hanna doesn't want to either."

"Sure, I get it. Anyway, just think about enjoying these couple of days with them, alright?"

"I will. I'll see you on Monday, Alison." he smiled.

"Bye, Caleb." she smiled back.

* * *

Caleb arrived to the airport early. He had to wait a little for his flight. He sat on one of the benches and thought about the fact that he could stay in Benidorm more than he thought he had to. He was more than sure he wasn't going to accept to stay for that additional month, his only thought was to take the money and go back to LA to buy Pennish's freaking house for his family, but the thing was that he was truly enjoying that kind of job and part of him was actually a bit disappointed that he would take part just to half of the project. Anyway, he eventually decided not to think about it. He just thought he would soon hug the love of his life and his little man, and that was more than enough to forget all the problems and smile.

Bored, he grabbed his mobile and started scrolling through his pictures, smiling at Liam's ones, then he started searching informations about the movie on the net. Licking his lower lip, he typed the names of all the people of the cast he had known, but when he typed Alison's one, something caught his eyes.

Alison had grown up in Rosewood, PA. The same town as Hanna. And they were also the same age. They had most likely even attended the same school.

There it was. Hanna and Alison knew each other. That's why Alison had asked if Hanna had grown in LA or not. That's why she had looked at Hanna's picture with that weird look on her face. And that's why Hanna had reacted that way when Caleb had mentioned Alison DiLaurentis' name when they were on the phone. Nor Hanna neither Alison had told Caleb about that, though. But was there a real reason about Hanna's strong jealousy toward that girl?

But, once again, Caleb was not in a thinking mood. He just needed to hug Hanna in that moment, nothing else. He shoved his mobile back in his pocket and rubbed his eyes, sighing deeply. That's when the speakers announced his flight.

* * *

Eleven hours and something like ten or fifteen minutes later, Caleb finally landed in LA. Local time, a quarter past seven in the evening. He had slept a little on the plane, since he was a little stoned from the change of time. In Spain it was four in the morning in that same moment, after all. But he didn't care about the tiredness or anything. He was in LA and he was going to the people who he loved.

He hadn't let Ezra take him from the airport. Caleb thought it would be risky because Aria could get suspicious. And he absolutely didn't want Hanna to find out, so he just called a simple cab to be sure.

Shortly after, he was finally in front of the door of his house. He felt nervous as hell and he didn't even know why. He took a deep breath and rang the doorbell, feeling his heart about to break his ribs because of the furious pounding. He heard footsteps from the other side, and he bit his lower lip so hard that he almost made it bleed. And then, someone finally opened the door.

Ashley.

Caleb smiled at her, although he was clearly hoping to find Hanna home.

"Caleb! Oh my God, what are you doing here?" she squealed before hugging him tightly.

Caleb laughed slightly and hugged her back.

"Hanna didn't tell me you were going to be back today!" she added as they pulled away.

"Well, she didn't because she doesn't know." he shrugged, grinning and coming inside, dragging his suitcase behind his back.

Ashley closed the door and turned back to him, smiling widely.

"She's gonna be so, _so_ happy. She doesn't do anything but talk about you and about how much she misses you." she replied then.

Caleb bit his lip, smiling.

"I miss her too." he simply said, placing his suitcase against the wall.

He took a look around before turning to Ashley again.

"Where's my little man?" he asked then.

"I'm sorry, dear, he's sleeping right now. But, well, if you want to wake him up..."

"No, no. Let's just let him sleep. He's going to have his surprise as soon as he wakes up... Hoping he will like it!" he chuckled.

Ashley chuckled as well, shaking her head.

"That kid totally can't wait to hug you again. He will be thrilled. Did Hanna tell you about the crosses on the calendar thing? " she continued.

"Yeah, she told me. I'm just... I'm so happy to be here now." Caleb sighed, smiling as he took a seat on the couch with Ashley.

"How come you're back, honey?" she asked.

"An unexpected free weekend. I decided to come back as soon as I found out about it. Yeah, it's just a few days, but... I need this. I need Hanna and Liam more than anything... This month felt like a lifetime without them." he confessed sincerely.

"Well... Hanna ends her shift a little before eight 'o clock. She'll be here soon." Ashley smiled over at him.

Caleb nodded shortly before glancing at his watch. He pursed her lips and turned back to Ashley.

"Uhm, actually... Maybe I could go to her. Yeah, if you don't mind to stay here for a little bit more, of course..." he said then.

Ashley smiled.

"No problem, Caleb. It's like written on your forehead that you can't wait to see her. Just go." she told him.

"Thank you so much, Ashley." he grinned, getting up from the couch eagerly.

Before going, he took a quick look into Liam's room, seeing him sleeping. He felt his heart grow bigger and smiled at himself before closing the door lightly and then getting out of the house.

He was finally going to hug _his_ Hanna again.

* * *

**A/N: A little time jump and Caleb's back home :') Yeah, just for a couple of days, but he's still back home, right? :) plus that was what a lot of you guys were waiting for! Obviously, in the next chapter Haleb will finally reunite, same thing for Caleb/Liam :):) And now, finally, you know for sure that Hanna and Ali know each other ;) But there's also this new thing of the second episode of the movie :/ Hanna and Caleb will have a lot to talk about, right? ;) Anyway, I really appreciated your latest reviews about the previous chapter :) Thank you for all of your kind words, I'm glad I can steal you a smile once in a while :D and I'm happy you found cute the Haleb phone call, yeah, that was actually pretty cheesy xD And you still haven't seen their reunion of the next chapter :P Haha, seriously though, I hope you're gonna like it :) Anyway, I'm so sorry for the late but I had a few pretty busy last days :( But I will never leave my stories and you know that, so no worries ;) also, welcome to the new readers! So, I don't know how many chapters this story will last but I can tell you that there's still a lot to happen, and now we're actually pretty close to the "juicy" zone. A lot of drama's coming for the time Caleb will come back to Spain ;) Anyway, since I'm very late I decided to update both of my stories so you can check out "Glasses of Wine" too since its new chapter's been published as well :) Plus, I wrote a one-shot based on the Haleb scene of 6x06, "I have a reason", so if you haven't read it yet and you want to, it's there on my profile, of course ;) So, I guess that's all. As always, thank you again for the support :) I hope you'll let me know what you guys think of this chapter too... And get ready for the Haleb reunion coming next :) I hope you all are gonna have a nice day :) Love you! xx -Atramea.**


	17. Chapter 17

Caleb decided for a cab again to go to the mall, so he and Hanna wouldn't have to come back home in two separate cars. He paid and hopped out of the vehicle, then he finally ran into the mall.

There wasn't a lot of people since it was almost closing time. He stopped in front of the clothing store and took a deep breath. He glanced inside through the showcase and saw Laura, who was serving the last customer at the pay desk. He took a few steps so he could have a better view and then he finally saw _her_.

Hanna was putting some of the shirts back to their shelfs. He just wanted to get into the store and take her into his arms, but no, actually he wanted her to see him first. Plus, he didn't want to give her any trouble by interrupting her work shift bursting into the place. He just stayed there, watching her from behind the glass, smiling at her moves. At some point, though, Laura lifted her gaze and saw him, but luckily Caleb immediately put his index finger against his own lips to signal her to stay quiet. She answered with a big smile and a nod, and he smiled back at her before focusing himself on Hanna once again. After the customer left, she walked to the pay desk and started chatting with Laura. Then, Laura walked away, probably to get changed, while Hanna turned around to put the 'closed' signboard at the entrance of the store.

Caleb knew that the moment was coming.

He was right there when Hanna put the signboard, but only when she was done, she finally lifted her gaze.

And then she saw him.

He was there, right there, behind the glass. He had this huge grin printed on his face and his hands were shoved into the pockets of his jeans.

Hanna's mouth fell open and her eyes widened automatically. Caleb could read an 'oh my God' fall from her lips, and then she was just running out of the door. He immediately turned around and ran toward her as well, and then they were closer and closer, until they finally met halfway. She literally jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly and her legs around his waist. He held her, with an arm wrapped under her thighs and the other one behind her head, closing his eyes to fully enjoy the moment. She immediately started crying against his shoulder, sobbing loudly. Caleb kissed her temple and stroked her hair soothingly.

Her smell, the warmth of her body, her beauty, her _everything_. She was _home _to him. God, how much he had missed her.

And Hanna had missed him too, to death. She felt like she had just found a part of herself back. She was into his arms and anything immediately felt better...felt at their place. It was like everything was in order in that moment.

"It's okay... It's okay, babe... I'm here now... I'm here with you..." he whispered.

She kept crying as he gently set her back down on her feet, but without releasing his hold on her. Then, Hanna pulled away slightly and cupped his face, giving him a long deep needed kiss, while her tears kept streaming down her cheeks.

"W-What are y-you d-doing here?" she stuttered then, attempting a smile.

Caleb placed his forehead against hers and smiled back, wiping her tears away with his thumbs.

"Weekend off." he replied simply.

Hanna quickly kissed him again.

"Why didn't you tell me anything? I would have come to the airport..." she murmured then.

"I wanted it to be a surprise." he shrugged.

Hanna shook her head and threw herself into his arms again as he kissed the top of her head.

"Shit, I missed you..." she mumbled against his shirt.

"I missed you too. So much..." he replied, smiling through her hair.

"I'm so happy you're here."

"So am I."

He pulled away slightly and looked straight into her eyes.

"Has everything been okay home these days? Is Liam alright, are you alright?" he asked earnestly.

"We're fine, everything's okay. What about you?" Hanna asked back.

Caleb nodded as he placed a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I'm fine. Actually, right now I'm so much more than fine." he whispered.

Hanna smiled widely as she stroked his cheek.

"God, how much I love you..." she told him gently.

"Yeah? Well... I love you too." he grinned before kissing her again.

"When did you arrive?" she asked when they pulled away.

"Not even half an hour ago, probably. I went home and found your mom, and Liam was sleeping, so... I just thought about coming here to get you. C'mon now, go get changed so we can go home, alright?"

Hanna nodded and smiled again before pressing another sweet kiss to his lips.

"Okay. I'll be right back." she whispered before finally walking away from him.

He smiled, following her silhouette with his eyes.

That girl was his life.

* * *

They came back home a little while later. Liam was still asleep, so they just thanked and said goodbye to Ashley.

"Did you take a look at the calendar?" Hanna asked, closing the front door after her mom had gotten out.

"Actually, not yet... Let me see." Caleb replied, walking to the wall where the calendar was.

Hanna came by his side as he studied the page, both smiling at the sight of the crosses Liam had drawn.

"He's learning to count, you know? We count how many crosses are missing before you come home everynight before going to sleep." Hanna told him.

Caleb smiled and felt a little lump in his throat.

"I'm so proud of him." he murmured simply, turning to Hanna and giving her a small smile.

She smiled back and hugged him, linking her arms behind his waist and placing her cheek against his chest. Caleb hugged her back and placed his chin on top of her head.

"I missed you. _We_ missed you." she whispered.

"I missed you guys too." he whispered back.

"So... What's Spain like?" Hanna asked after a few seconds of comfortable silence.

He pulled away slightly and grinned.

"Oh, that's a great place, but... Can we talk later?" he added.

Hanna raised her eyebrows, looking up at him.

"Why? What could you possibily want to do right now? Having dinner, maybe?" she asked, joking.

Caleb licked his lips as he sank his face into her neck, where he left a few wet kisses.

"The only thing I'd like to eat right now is _you_..." he whispered against her skin.

Hanna closed her eyes as Caleb kept kissing down her neck and his hands started working on the buttons of her blouse. She pushed him closer now resting her hands against the back of his shoulders as a small sigh escaped from her lips.

"It's been way _too_ long..." he whispered again, finally done with the buttons of her blouse.

Then, he kept kissing her as she backed off, taking his shirt off in the process. He finally slid her blouse off her shoulders as well and they clumsily climbed on their large soft carpet in the middle of the living room. Hanna lied down and pulled Caleb down on top of her, kissing him over and over. He had a few issues to unclasp her bra, but he eventually managed to without breaking the kiss. She took it off for good and moved her hands to his crotch, staring to work on his belt, as he moved his lips down her neck and over her now exposed chest.

"God... I need you..." he groaned.

"You talk too much, Caleb..." she whispered, pushing his jeans and boxers down in just one move.

He grunted and kissed her once again before moving his hands under her skirt. He pushed the material of her thong aside before finally entering her, reconnecting their bodies and souls after a month. Hanna moaned into his mouth as he kept kissing her, moving now his hands to massage both of her breast. And then he was thrusting over and over, quickly and deeply. He couldn't be too gentle, not this time, not after a month without even touching her. Hanna was gripping his hair in an almost painful way, but he didn't care. His hands traveled over her sides, gripping the smooth skin of her thighs and touching every inch of her body he could reach. They kissed almost all the way through, parting their lips just for air every once in a while. And then, suddenly, Caleb slowed down and pushed himself into her as deep as he could, hitting something inside of her which literally made her see the stars. She buried her fingernails into the flesh of his back and bit hard Caleb's lip as she orgasmed. He moaned, staying buried inside of her for a few seconds longer before feeling her pulsate and releasing himself into her as well. He pulled away from her mouth and titled his head back, squeezing his eyes shut and letting go a groan.

Hell, they both needed that.

Caleb collapsed next to her, catching his breath along with her. After a few seconds, he sat up and pulled his boxers and jeans back up before reaching out to pick Hanna's bra and blouse from the floor. Then, he gently took her hand, helping her to sit up before kissing her forehead. After that, he handed her her clothes, smiling as she smiled back.

"Sorry if I was a little..._rough_. I promise I'll be gentler next time." he murmured.

Hanna chuckled a little, putting her bra back on.

"Caleb, it's okay. Don't worry. You're not the only one who hadn't had sex in a month... I can perfectly understand, you know." she added, looking at him with a bright smile while buttoning her blouse.

He nodded and smiled back, reaching out to stroke her cheek.

"Plus it was amazing." she continued.

Then, he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.

"Of course it was... I totally missed you." he whispered.

Hanna smiled again. Then, they leaned back against the couch behind them and Caleb wrapped his arm around her shoulders, as she rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arm around his waist. She also settled her legs over one of his thighs, so that they were both hanging over in between his ones. He kissed the top of her head and started stroking her hair, as she rubbed circles on his still bare abdomen.

"I still can't believe you're here..." she commented softly.

"Yeah, me neither... Twelve hours ago I was in Spain and now I'm here with you... It's kind of weird."

"You know, I was planning on coming there one of these days. I wanted to come with Liam... He didn't know, but I had started looking for a comfortable flight in order to take him with me. I wanted to come and stay with you for a couple of days, you know... Make you and also Liam a surprise... But you beated me on time."

"Well... You could still come one of the following weeks."

"It wouldn't be a surprise anymore, though."

"Maybe not for me, but it would for Liam." he smiled, looking down at her.

She smiled back.

"Yeah, you're probably right." she replied then.

"You know I'd love to see you two at any time. So... Yeah, if you're free and you want to come, of course I'll be happy about it."

"Okay... But I won't tell you when I come."

Caleb chuckled and shook his head.

"Fine, whatever you want." he added before kissing the top of her head.

Hanna made herself comfortable into his arms and sighed happily.

"How is it going at the mall?" he asked after a few seconds.

"Pretty good. You know, last week there was this customer, a sixty-ish lady, who came to the pay desk and literally squealed when she saw my engagement ring. And then she was all like 'Oh my God, it's so beautiful, congratulations, honey! What a lucky girl you are!' and stuff... And I just felt so fucking embarassed because then all of the people in the store were staring at me and pointing at my ring and everything... It was so awkward, ugh." she told him then.

He just erupted in an amused laugh picturing the scene in his head.

"God, you must have blushed a lot!" he commented then.

Hanna slapped his chest lightly.

"Stop having fun of me! Even if... Well, I definitely have. You know me too well." she couldn't help but eventually smile.

"Oh, I do." he grinned.

Hanna smiled again and pecked his lips. It was like she couldn't stop kissing him since he was back.

"I missed this." she whispered then.

Caleb stroked her cheek before replying.

"Me too."

"Mommy!" Liam's voice called from his room in a sleepy tone.

Caleb's eyes sparkled at that sound and Hanna smiled widely.

"I'm coming, baby!" she replied loudly enough to make the kid hear.

"Go get him. But don't tell him I'm here. I'll just wait here, okay?" Caleb said softly, smiling.

"Okay." she nodded.

Caleb put his shirt back on as Hanna walked to Liam's room. She came back a few minutes later, carrying a barely awake Liam. He was all curled up against Hanna's chest though, with his little arms looped around her neck and his cheek smashed against her shoulder, so he couldn't see his daddy. Hanna smiled at Caleb, noticing he was getting really emotional seeing his son right there.

"Little man... There's a surprise for you." she whispered then to the kid.

"What surprise, mommy?" Liam mumbled.

"Daddy." Hanna replied softly, smiling.

"Daddy on the phone! I wanna talk to daddy!" he squealed excitedly, pulling away slightly to face his mommy.

Hanna giggled as Caleb smiled widely.

"Daddy's not on the phone, baby... He's right there behind you." she told the kid.

And then, Liam abruptly turned around and squealed at the sight of Caleb. He almost jumped off Hanna's arms to run to him.

"Daddy!" he yelled as Hanna finally placed him on his feet and he started running toward Caleb.

"My little big man!" Caleb exclaimed, kneeling down and spreading his arms.

Liam went to hug him and Caleb held him tight, burying his head into his son's little shoulder. He couldn't stop the tears from falling down from his eyes as he hugged Liam after a long month, finally feeling his little arms wrapped around his neck in that nice familiar way. Hanna also felt really emotional watching the scene. Caleb felt a little stupid because he was the one crying, not his son, but there he was, an over thirty years old man crying like a baby into his two years son's embrace. Liam had definitely become a little big man. When Caleb found enough strength to pull away, he took Liam's head between his hands and looked at him, twirling one of the kid's short locks around his index. He even looked grown-up from the last time he had seen him.

"Daddy, why you cry? You sad you home?" Liam asked then, a little confused.

Caleb laughed slightly, stroking his son's cheek.

"No, little man, I'm so happy... It's just that daddy missed you so so so much." he replied then.

"I missed you too, daddy."

Then, Liam smiled and hugged again Caleb, as Hanna flashed her fiancé a wide grin.

"You brought me toys?" Liam asked then, suddenly remembering what Caleb had told him before leaving.

Caleb laughed as he wiped his own tears away, then nodded.

"Of course. Let me just take them, they're in the suitcase." he replied.

"Okay, while you two play a little, I'm gonna prepare dinner." Hanna announced, smiling at the pair.

"Yes, mommy." Liam replied.

Caleb lifted himself and walked over to where he had placed his suitcase earlier, giving Hanna a peck on the lips on his way.

"That was the cutest thing ever." she said, wiping away another little tear over Caleb's cheek with her thumb.

He replied with a smile before bending toward the suitcase.

"Hey, do you want to go out later? Maybe to say hello to someone?" Hanna asked then.

Caleb turned to her and shook his head, smiling again.

"I just want to be here with my family tonight. I'll just see everyone tomorrow at Emma's party. Right now, you two are all I need." he replied gently.

She smiled down at him before going to the kitchen to make dinner to her family.

* * *

**A/N: Hi everyone! I know, I know, last chapter I left you without the Haleb reunion, but here you got it ;) They're finally together again, the whole little family :) ...and sorry for the cheesiness but, I mean, I had to :P I hope you enjoyed it, both Haleb and Caleb/Liam's reunion :) Also, obviously Hanna and Caleb are gonna discuss about Ali and the second episode of the movie, just later... I spoiler you that they'll talk about Ali right in the next chapter, so you will get your answers about that. As always, I'm very grateful for all of your reviews and everything. Reading you all is always a pleasure, I hope you reading me feel the same :) I will update GoW too hopefully tomorrow or in a couple of days, I just need to fix a couple of things before publishing ;) So... I hope you liked the chapter, let me know :) Thanks for reading and for your amazing support, you guys are the best! Love you all, until next time :D xx -Atramea.**


	18. Chapter 18

Hanna, Caleb and Liam had dinner all together, then Caleb and Liam played for hours with all the new toys Caleb had bought for him in Spain. In the end, Liam said he was a little tired of playing, so Caleb and him just sat on the couch with Hanna, and the three started watching _Finding Nemo_, Liam's favorite movie.

"Daddy, you hug me?" the kid asked suddenly, turning around on the couch and stretching his little arms toward his dad.

Caleb smiled widely at his son's extreme cuteness.

"Of course I hug you, buddy... Come here to daddy." he replied, taking him into his arms and hugging him.

Hanna melted at the sight of that moment. Caleb, then, gave him a few sloppy kisses here and there before settling him on his own lap.

"Does the little man want a little of daddy's cuddles?" he asked then, tickling his sides.

The kid laughed as Caleb kept tickling him.

"Does he? I don't understand!" Caleb asked again, laughing as well.

"Yes!" Liam squealed then, so Caleb stopped tickling him.

He then let Liam make himself comfortable all cuddled up against his chest, as he stroked his hair and occasionally kissed the top of his head while watching the movie. But clearly, it wasn't long before the kid closed his eyes and fell asleep between his daddy's arms.

"Look at him." Hanna whispered, resting her head on Caleb's shoulder.

Caleb smiled as he looked down at his son.

"You don't know how much I missed him." he commented softly then, still looking at Liam.

"He missed you too. His face when he saw you earlier was priceless... And did you see him earlier? I can't remember the last time I saw him so happy." Hanna whispered back, hugging Caleb's arm.

Caleb looked back at Hanna and smiled at her before pressing a kiss on the top of her head.

"I'll tuck him in, alright?" he said then.

"Okay." she agreed.

Hanna left her grasp from Caleb's arm and he slowly got up from the couch holding Liam.

"I'll be right back." he winked at her before disappearing through the hallway.

* * *

When Caleb was back, he and Hanna cuddled up a little on the couch before starting to make out, then one thing led to another until they ended up in their bedroom, making love again, this time slower and gentler than earlier. A while later Hanna was lying in between his legs, with her back resting against his chest as he held her waist from behind, both dressed in nothing but their underwear. She slowly turned around and smiled again at him.

"Thank you for today." she said.

"For what, exactly?" he asked, smiling and furrowing an eyebrow.

"For the surprise, for... Coming back to us, even just for a weekend."

"I did it all because I love you both. You don't have to thank me, silly." he grinned.

Then he placed a soft kiss on a random spot between her neck and shoulder, slowly running his fingers up and down her bare arms, before looking back at her. He looked pretty serious.

"You know, now... All of this made me realize that I really want another baby." he said softly, slightly smiling at the corner of his lips.

Hanna raised her eyebrows and her mouth automatically fell open.

"Is that still...okay, right?" he continued then, raising an eyebrow.

Hanna sighed before replying.

"Yeah, of course it is. We talked about that, and I was the one who asked you, so... You know I want it too."

"So what's wrong?" he asked then, confused, still running his hands up and down her body.

Hanna turned her neck slightly to look at him better.

"I'm not pregnant." she murmured.

Caleb smiled softly.

"Yeah, well... Not yet. We were just stopping to avoid the thing before I left. Now we can really try, if you still want to. You know, like, seeing when you're ovulating and all of that weird women stuff." he added.

Hanna stayed silent and bit her lip.

"Babe, seriously, did you change your mind? Look, if you want to wait after the wedding, I get it, I—" Caleb continued before Hanna stopped him.

"I didn't change my mind. It's just that... I think that's something's wrong with me."

Caleb furrowed his eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" he asked then.

Hanna sighed and sat up in bed, turning her body toward him and looking into his eyes.

"Before you left, we... We happened to have sex exactly when I was ovulating. You know, the fertile days. I swear, it wasn't planned, I noticed it just later. But... Nothing happened. Maybe something inside me doesn't work the way it's supposed to work."

Caleb stroked her cheek and smiled softly at her.

"Hanna, you had stopped having the pill just then. Give some time to your body, I think that's pretty normal not to get pregnant right away." he whispered then.

"Yeah, but Caleb, think about it... When I got pregnant with Liam, I mean, it wasn't planned, we had unprotected sex just a couple of times and then, boom, I was pregnant."

"Babe, it's nature. There are no proper rules to make absolutely sure that one time is the right time, I guess. It happens when it happens, right? You shouldn't worry that much. Just give it some time, okay? I'm sure we're going to find out the good news very soon."

Hanna sighed and made herself comfortable again between Caleb's arms.

"How do you always manage to calm me down?" she whispered then.

Caleb chuckled and kissed the top of her head.

"That's nature too." he commented, holding her tighter to him.

Hanna rolled then over, lying on her side, and Caleb spooned her, with his arms wrapped around her waist and his head on her shoulder.

"You know, it's like I don't want to sleep somehow, because it would feel like I'm wasting these hours we can spend together..." he whispered in her ear.

"Well, I think we're both gonna get finally some good sleep, though. Now, with you in here, this feels like my _real_ bed. You don't know how much I missed you..." she whispered back.

Caleb kissed her cheek as an answer, then she continued.

"I was imaging you there, looking at the sea with some beautiful Spanish girl, all tanned and everything... Yeah, you'd probably think I'm an idiot, but I thought that, hoping you weren't actually doing it."

"Well... The first night wasn't easy, you know? We had had that fight by phone and I was nervous as hell, so I went to the beach to smoke instead of staying closed in my hotel room..."

"And then you got drunk?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"No girls around?"

"Well... I'd lie if I told you there weren't."

Hanna turned around and sat up again.

"I guess Alison kept you a good company!" she snapped suddenly.

At that, what Caleb had read about Alison on the net came back up to his mind, so he sat up as well and then spoke up.

"You know her, don't you? And don't tell me you don't, because I know it would be a lie. So, what's the big deal with her? And why didn't you tell me sooner that you knew her?"

"She was the one who told you, wasn't she?"

"No, she wasn't. And I don't understand why both you and her didn't tell me. Why there's all of this mystery, Hanna? By the way, she didn't have to tell me, after all I just met her. But I don't understand why _you_ didn't, instead. We're getting married, Hanna. We've been together for years. We have a child. Nevertheless, sometimes I still have the feeling that you don't totally trust me, damn it."

He didn't raise his voice or anything, but he wanted to understand. He just wanted to understand. Hanna looked at him quietly, before looking down.

"Who told you?" she murmured then.

"No one. I was just going around the internet, typing the names of the cast actors. Then I found out that Alison grew up in Rosewood, your same town, and that she's your age. You two clearly know each other. So... What are you hiding from me about your relationship?" Caleb said then, softly but firmly at the same time.

Hanna got up from the bed and walked to the balcony, then she suddenly started talking as she stared outside through the glass.

"Alison and I were friends during the first years of high school. She was like the queen bee of the whole town, instead I was just a chubby girl who liked eating a lot and spent her Saturday nights watching movies home alone. I had always wondered why she had chosen me to be a friend of hers. You saw some of my pictures of those years, so you know I was kind of fat, right?"

Caleb tried to reply, but she cut him off soon, turning around to face him.

"Han, you weren't—"

"I was, okay? I was bullied because of that for years, Caleb. When guys saw me at school, they immediately stopped walking just to point their fingers toward me and laugh. I still can remember those looks on their faces as they were whispering in each other's ears while staring at me. I was _so_ alone... I just wanted to be invisible. I came to the point of not wanting to get out of my house, not for school not for anything...just to avoid people. I hated all the people, Caleb. They were mean to me. _So_ mean."

Hanna's eyes were starting to get watery and Caleb tried to find the right words to comfort her, but she continued before he could.

"And then, one day, Alison DiLaurentis came up to me. I was so happy... I couldn't believe it. The most popular girl of Rosewood was talking to the most loser girl of Rosewood. It was like...a dream to me. She offered to help me. She told me she could make me _prettier_, that she knew all of the beauty secrets and stuff. I didn't have friends, I didn't have anyone or anything. Of course I accepted her help. That was my chance. But I didn't know that...she had a really particular view of _friendship_. She...made me do things that still make me hate myself. I only had her and I trusted her, but... I should have understood that if she had come up to the most loser girl of Rosewood, it wasn't to get herself a new friend. She didn't need friends, she had plently of them. She just wanted to...have fun of me. A girl naive and alone. A perfect target for her insane games."

At this point, Caleb got up from the bed as well and approached her.

"What happened, Hanna?" he asked softly.

Hanna took a deep breatn before replying.

"Alison taught me how to apply the make up, how to fix my hair, all of this girly stuff, and then... Then she told me that I looked better, but that... That I needed to lose weight if I really wanted to have a boyfriend. And of course I wanted. I also liked a guy of our school at that time. So I remember I asked her if I should start a diet, maybe, but she told me it wasn't necessary. She told me that she knew a so much more easier and quicker way to lose weight than a diet. I was just a kid, Caleb. I couldn't understand. She... She told me that I just had to push a toothbrush down my throat, or my fingers, that then I would feel better. And... That same night, I did it for the first time. And then I just couldn't stop. I used to eat anything I could until I felt my stomach literally about to explode, then I ran to the toilet and threw everything up. Over and over again. I lost weight, yeah, but in a very unhealtly way, clearly. But mentally, well, I felt better. I went on for almost two years. Two freaking years. Alison said she was proud of me. But then, at some point, I ended up in hospital. I had passed out. I had some blood in my stomach and something else, I don't really remember. I was just fifteen. My mom didn't know anything about what I was doing to myself. But I remember that when I opened my eyes and I found myself in that hospital room, the first sound I heard was my mom sobbing. She was crying, sitting on a chair next to my bed. She was _terrified_. In that moment I understood how wrong what I was doing was. And I never did it again. Never. I also broke things off with Ali, of course. She had always kept telling me I was doing good instead of stopping me... And when I told her I didn't want to do that anymore, she just told me that beauty had its cost, and giving up on her methods would just bring me back to be a fat lonely loser. And then she laughed. However, after that mess, my mom and I moved to LA and I never saw her again. She... She's probably one of the most mean people I've ever met. I... I'm sorry, but I just couldn't stand the fact that she could be with you when I couldn't even see you. Don't think I don't trust you, Caleb. I love you to death, you're the man of my life, the father of my child. I just thought that the Alison thing didn't really matter to you by now, that it could just unfocus you from the big chance you're living. She told you to tell me that I'm lucky just to tease me, you get it? She recognized me from the picture and she decided to have fun of me for the nth time. I just... I thought it was better for you to think that I was simply jealous here because you were surrounded by beautiful women, also because deep down that's the truth too, rather than to think that I was here cursing a girl because of an high school thing instead of thinking that the man of my life is living his dream."

Caleb swallowed hard and clenched his jaw before holding Hanna tightly into his arms.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered.

She silently cried into his embrace as he stroked soothingly her hair.

"I'm so so sorry, babe..." he whispered again, tightening his hug.

"No, you don't have to apologize, you couldn't know..." Hanna mumbled in reply.

Caleb then pulled away and looked into her eyes, wiping her tears away with his thumbs.

"Why you never told me about your eating disorder?" he asked softly.

Hanna shrugged slightly.

"I didn't want to remember, I guess... It's kind of hard." she murmured.

Caleb stroked her cheek before replying.

"And now you had to do that because of me. Shit, I'm an idiot... And that girl is such a bitch, I swear, when I get back there, I will—"

"It's okay, Caleb. You thought I was hiding something and you just wanted to understand. It's normal. It's my fault, I shouldn't always keep everything to myself... By the way, I was the idiot who chose to listen to her at the time. She never pushed a toothbrush down my throat... I did. She never forced me. It was _my_ choice, in the end. So just leave her alone, please. Let it go. It's over now, it doesn't matter anymore. Okay?" she interrupted him before throwing herself into his arms again.

"Okay, but... It's not your fault. Any of this is. Anyway, you can tell me anything... You know that, right?" he whispered, kissing the top of her head.

Hanna pulled away slightly and gave him a small smile before nodding.

"Good. Now... Okay, if you don't want to talk about it anymore, let's not talk about it anymore. But remember that you're fine and you're with me... No one's gonna hurt you ever again. You have my word. I promise on my life." he continued, feeling furious as hell for what that bitch had done to his beautiful girl.

Hanna nodded.

"I love you so much." she murmured then.

Caleb smiled and then kissed her gently.

"I love you too. Let's go back to bed now. We'd better sleep a little." he said once they pulled away, nodding to their bed.

Hanna nodded, so Caleb grabbed her hand and led her back to bed, slipping under the blankets with her. He spooned her again and kissed her bare shoulder, but right then Liam started whining from his room. Hanna groaned and tried to get up immediately, but Caleb stopped her.

"Let me do this. I missed it." he whispered, kissing her cheek before getting up.

Hanna smiled slightly watching him leave the room to reach Liam's one. He came back just a minute later, though, carrying an awake Liam between his arms. Hanna raised an eyebrow.

"Little man, what are you doing here?" she asked softly to his son.

"Daddy said I can sleep here tonight." the kid mumbled.

Caleb winked at Hanna.

"Yeah, it was my idea. But...Liam and I have a pact." he added then.

"Which is?" she asked.

"Tell mommy, little man, c'mon." Caleb whispered to Liam.

"I don't in the middle. Daddy is." Liam replied then.

Hanna furrowed an eyebrow toward Caleb, who shrugged innocently.

"I just want to be able to hug you both tonight." he said then, smiling softly.

Hanna smiled.

"Well, then... I guess that's decided, right?" she said then, winking at Liam.

"Yay!" Liam squealed happily, as Caleb walked to his side of the bed with him.

They slipped under the blankets and Caleb settled himself in the middle, spreading his arms and wrapping one around Hanna's shoulders and the other around Liam's tiny body before kissing the top of their heads.

"Here. This is just perfect." he smiled.

Hanna smiled back before burying her face into the crook of his neck, circling his waist with her arm and swinging her leg over his. Liam basically used his daddy's chest as a pillow and closed his eyes.

"Night night, mommy and daddy." he whispered with his adorable voice.

"Goodnight, baby." Hanna whispered back, reaching out and squeezing his little leg.

"Goodnight, little man." Caleb whispered as well, rubbing his hand up and down Liam's back and kissing his forehead once again.

Then, Caleb turned to Hanna and she lifted her head to give him a peck on the lips.

"I'm so happy you're here." she told him softly.

"So am I."

"Goodnight." she concluded, moving her open hand to set it on top of his heart, right where she belonged.

"Goodnight, babe." he concluded, stroking her hair until he fell asleep, along with her and Liam.

* * *

**A/N: Here I am, as soon as I could :) So, you finally found out about all the Ali/Hanna thing. I know that's the same thing that happened in the show, but I've always felt like the show never explored this thing which, in my opinion, it's something very deep which would deserve some attention. Plus, guys, I know what it means to be bullied. There was a time on my life where I experienced that, not for my weight like Hanna, but that's not what matters, I just know how it feels. And it's not nice, at all. Maybe that's also part of the reason why I feel myself so close to Hanna's character. Anyway, it was pretty emotional to write this, hope you enjoyed it :) And how cute are Caleb and Liam? :) And the three sleeping all together? Hope you'll let me know ;) So happy to know that you all appreciated and found cute the reunion chapter, that was clearly my intention :) I'm learning that I absolutely love writing Haleb as a family, I didn't know that until I started haha :D p3paranoid1329, lovely, so nice to hear from you again ;) don't worry for not reviewing always, I'm just so glad you're still reading me since you've been there basically since when I started writing on this website around a year ago :) I hope the guest who wanted Ali to be portrayed like a bitch enjoyed this chapter, I think we have the same opinion haha ;) Also, very happy to hear from the guest who used to write me their favorite lines of the chapter, I've always loved your reviews :) and yeah, I agree with you, Hanna and Caleb are each other's home and that's their essence, that's probably why I might have written it in several of my fics haha :D Also thanks to everyone else, I really really appreciate your love and I hope my updates may pay you back :) Next chapter you'll see Emma's birthday party, some other Haleb cuteness and some serious talk...the freaking second episode of the movie .-. I also updated "Glasses of Wine" for those who are following it too, check it out ;) So, that's all for now. Looking forward to read your opinions! Once again, thank you all for your support, means a lot to me and I think you guessed it by now, haha ;) Side note: Tyshley lately is being too cute, I can't deal with those too ^^ Alright, bedtime for me here in Italy. I'll read you all when I wake up :D Love you all, have a nice day! xx -Atramea.**


	19. Chapter 19

Caleb lifted his eyelids. Hanna was there, looking at him silently while gently caressing his face.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." she whispered when she saw he was awake.

Caleb smiled.

"Morning... God, it's so nice to start a day when you're the first thing I see when I open my eyes..." he replied, his voice still husky from the sleep.

Hanna returned the smile, keeping to caress his face.

"It's gonna be like this forever, you know?" she asked then, referring to their wedding.

"There's nothing I want more."

And with that, he rolled over and moved on top of her, kissing her fiercely. Hanna moaned into his mouth, enjoying his 'good morning' for a little before pushing him away.

"Liam's awake. He's in his room. He wanted to play with his new toys, so I let him go." she whispered.

Caleb kissed down her neck as she giggled.

"Good... If he's playing, I guess he's rather busy right now, so..." he mumbled, roaming his hands down her sides while grazing her collarbone with his teeth.

Hanna laughed slightly as Caleb went on for a few seconds but then she shoved him and smirked.

"_So_ nothing. No funny business when pumpkin's awake. You know the rules." she said, slipping out of the blankets.

"I've always hated rules." Caleb groaned.

He then laughed and shook his head, following Hanna with his gaze. Then, he got up and slipped into a pair of sweats, then walked behind her, who was putting on her gown, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her shoulder.

"I'm sorry for what she did to you." he murmured then, referring to their talk about Alison of the previous night.

Hanna bit her lip and turned back to him.

"Caleb, please, let's not talk about it anymore. We agreed we would." she said firmly.

"I just... I can't stop thinking about it."

"Well, you _need_ to stop. I'm fine now and I love my life. You don't have to worry about anything else."

Caleb sighed before leaning in and kissing her forehead.

"Okay. I'm going to the little man, then we'll be downstairs. I'm gonna make breakfast for the three of us." he told her then.

Hanna smiled and nodded.

"Sounds great. I'll come in a minute." she added.

Caleb nodded back before getting out of the room.

* * *

Caleb made breakfast for himself, Hanna and Liam, then, at some point, the doorbell rang.

"Must be my mom and Jess. I told them I'm back, do you mind?" Caleb asked Hanna as he stood up from his barstool.

"Babe, they're my family too by now." Hanna replied, smiling.

Caleb returned the smile before walking to the front door. He opened it and smiled widely at the sight of his mom .

"My kid!" Claudia exclaimed before throwing her arms around Caleb.

He laughed and hugged her back tightly.

"Where's Jess?" he asked then.

"She had work to do, she will try to come later."

"Okay, well... Come in, Hanna and Liam are in the kitchen. There are a few pancakes for you as well, if you want." Caleb continued, walking back to the kitchen.

"Hanna, hi, honey!" Claudia exclaimed as she gave Hanna an hug.

Hanna returned the hug, then Claudia picked Liam up.

"And here's grandma's baby!" she giggled, tickling Liam's tummy and making him laugh.

Then, Claudia took a seat on a barstool close to Hanna and Caleb with Liam sitting on her lap.

"Here, Claudia. Caleb made them." Hanna said then, pushing the dish with the pancakes toward Claudia.

The woman thanked her and ate a little of her pancake before speaking again, turning toward Caleb.

"So, sweetie, how does it feel to be home?"

Caleb rolled his eyes.

"Don't call me that, mom. It makes me feel like a baby." he grunted.

"You will always be my baby." Claudia protested, smiling.

Caleb rolled his eyes and Hanna grinned.

"Baby!" Liam squealed from between Claudia's arms.

The three adults laughed.

"Feels good, anyway. _Really_ good." Caleb replied finally, looking over at Hanna and smiling at her.

"Are you enjoying the work?" Claudia asked again, as Liam stole a little of her pancake from the dish.

"Yeah, a lot, actually. But I couldn't wait to come back home." he replied.

"Well, neither could Hanna." Claudia added, winking at her.

"How do you know?" Caleb asked his mom, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, while you were away, Hanna and I spent a lot of time together, you know." the woman replied.

"Oh, really?" Caleb sounded surprised.

"Yeah. We might have also gone to a Pnina Tornai's boutique to start seeing a few wedding dresses..." Claudia continued.

"Seriously?" Caleb laughed, looking from his mom to Hanna.

"Yeah, an only-women-admitted thing. It was just once, but we're going there again soon. Very soon. _All of us_." Claudia grinned.

Caleb shook his head and turned to Hanna.

"Han, how many people are you taking around with you to see dresses?" he asked, smiling and raising an eyebrow.

"Well... Your mom, my mom, Aria, Laura and Jess... That's it." she replied, shrugging innocently.

"Five people? Oh my... Wait, what? Did you just say 'Jess'?" Caleb asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yeah, Jess." Hanna confirmed.

"Okay, now I'm surprised." he affirmed, laughing slightly.

"Don't be. This wedding's making everyone happy, Caleb. Everyone. Seriously." Claudia told him, smiling.

Caleb nodded.

"I'm glad." he simply said then.

"Is Liam happy about mommy and daddy's wedding?" Claudia asked then, looking down at the kid sitting on her lap.

"Yay! Mommy will wear a white dress and I will put a tie on!" Liam replied excitedly.

The three laughed again.

"He might have come with us too, yeah. He was the only man admitted." Claudia added.

"So, little man, since you went to the boutique too, tell daddy... Was mommy beautiful with the white dress?" Caleb asked his son.

"Yes, daddy. She was _gordwus_. Grandma Ashley cried a lot when she saw mommy. And grandma Claudia said mommy was an angel." Liam replied.

Caleb smiled gently at his son before turning to Hanna.

"You sure were... I can't wait to see you walk down the aisle of the church to get to me." he said softly, reaching out over the table and gently stroking the back of her hand.

Hanna blushed furiously at that. She still blushed when he made her a compliment, but when he did that 'in public', she felt thirty times more embarassed. She cleared her throat and got up from her barstool.

"Do you want a coffee, Claudia?" she asked.

"Sure, darling. Thanks." the woman replied, smiling.

Hanna walked a few feets away to make some coffee, then Claudia turned to Caleb.

"You made her feel self-conscious!" she snapped at him.

Caleb smirked and shrugged.

"She still blushes when I tell her a sweet thing. That's one of the million things I love about her." he added.

"She's a wonderful girl, Caleb. You're very lucky."

"I know, mom. Believe me, I know."

* * *

Hours later, Hanna, Caleb and Liam went to Aria and Ezra's house for Emma's fourth birthday party. Aria opened the door and found the three in front of herself, clearly happy that Caleb had made it to be there. She hugged him, then greeted Hanna and Liam as well before inviting them inside. Caleb immediately went to hug Ezra as well, thanking him because he had kept his mouth shut with everyone about his return. Then, Caleb turned around and noticed that Hanna and Liam were talking to Emma, so he walked to them and bent down.

"Hey, princess!" he smiled at Emma.

"Caleb! You here!" the little girl exclaimed surprised with a huge smile on her face before literally throwing herself into his arms.

Caleb laughed and picked her up, spinning her around. Emma had always been in love with Caleb, since she was one year old or something. She said he was her prince charming and that they would get married when she would be a little older.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart!" he told her before putting her back down on her feet and kissing her cheek.

"Thank you!" Emma smiled goofily at him with her doe eyes.

Caleb turned to Liam.

"Hey, little man, give the princess her present, c'mon." he told him then.

Liam handed Emma a pack, then both of them ran away to the other kids to unwrap the present all together. Then, Caleb turned back around and saw Hanna staring at him, smiling.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, smiling back and walking over to her.

She raised her eyebrows and shrugged before replying.

"Because you were so freaking cute with Emma."

"Is that all?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Well... I'm happy that you're the dad of my child."

Caleb's smile grew. He took a strand of her hair off her face before putting his hand on her cheek and leaning in to gently kiss her lips.

"I'm kind of hungry, I'm going to grab something to eat, alright?" he said then.

"Sure." she replied, wiping the sign of her red lipstick off Caleb's lips with her thumb.

He let her do that, smiling, before walking to the table where the food was. And when he reached it, suddenly Liam ran to him, grabbing one of his legs.

"Hey, little man, you hungry too?" he asked, looking down at him.

Liam nodded, so Caleb filled his dish with a lot of differents things to eat and went to sit on a small sofa, leading the kid with him holding his little hand. He settled Liam properly on his lap and started eating with him from the same dish. Caleb practically came back to be a kid, laughing and enjoying to dirt his mouth with Liam, until Hanna came up to them.

"What the hell are you two doing?" she asked, laughing.

Liam started laughing loudly as well, as Caleb wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Can't you see, mommy? We're eating!" he replied then, winking at her.

Hanna chuckled and sat on the armrest of the sofa next to them.

"He must've missed you a lot... He was laughing with me, but not that much." she smirked then, shaking her head.

Caleb shrugged, moving his gaze back to Liam, who was now busy eating a cookie, before turning to Hanna again.

"You know, just for the record... I'm happy that you're the mom of my child too." he whispered then.

Hanna lost herself into his chocolate eyes as she smiled sweetly at him, but then Liam broke their moment distangling himself from his daddy's grasp.

"Daddy! I go playing!" he muttered.

"Okay, bud. Be a good kid." Caleb told him, placing his dish on the table before letting go Liam.

The kid ran away, followed by their parents' amused gazes. Hanna stole a cookie from Caleb's dish before getting up and grabbing his hand.

"C'mon, everyone wants to know how you're doing in Spain." she told him, nodding toward the couch where Aria, Ezra and some other friends were sitting.

Caleb interlaced their fingers as he got up.

"Fine, let's do this." he said finally.

* * *

After a few hours of laughing and talking, after eating a lot, after one of the funniest day Liam had ever lived, the family of three finally got home. Caleb had told everyone about his job in Spain, and people seem really interested about that. When they got home, Liam had already passed out, tired as hell from his hours of running and playing around with the other kids at Emma's party. Caleb tucked him in, but promised himself he would say goodbye to him the next day before leaving, since unfortunately he had to go back to Spain.

He returned then in the living room, where Hanna had climbed on the couch, pretty exhausted as well. He smiled slightly before climbing next to her.

"Tired?" he asked then.

"_Tired_ is an understatement. And you know what's the funny thing? I did basically nothing, I just ate and talked, that's it. I think I'm growing older..." she muttered.

Caleb laughed at that.

"What? It's true! Even my feet hurt because of these stupid heels! I should be used to all of this but look at me, instead... I'm definitely growing older." she continued, slipping off her five inches.

Caleb smiled and gently grabbed Hanna's bare feet before settling them on his lap as she lied down on the couch.

"Relax, okay? You're not growing older, you're just a mom. Moms just get tired, everyone knows that. And that's because they do the hardest job of this world." he replied smiling, starting to rub her soles with his hands.

Hanna sighed and got relaxed under his touch. His hands were literally magic.

"What would I do without you?" she murmured then, closing her eyes.

He smiled.

"Better?" he asked then, referring to her feet.

"Yeah. But keep going, please."

He chuckled and did what he was told to, then spoke again.

"So... You already chose your wedding dress?"

Hanna opened her eyes and grinned at him.

"Of course not. I still have to try a lot of different ones on." she replied then.

"That was stupid of me to ask." he chuckled, still working on her feet.

"I need to be perfect that day, it's an important choice."

"Han, you _are_ perfect. If it was for me, you could come even without anything on... Which, actually, would probably be the best choice." he smirked.

She hit his knee with her heel.

"You little perv!" she muttered jokingly as he laughed.

But then, he suddenly changed his expression.

"I'm sorry." he whispered.

Hanna furrowed her eyebrows and sat up.

"For what?" she asked then.

He sighed before replying.

"We're supposed to be planning our wedding right now, instead I'm leaving again tomorrow. You might have started seeing some dresses, but I'm not doing anything at all for that day yet."

Hanna smiled gently at him and took one of his hands.

"You're _working_, Caleb. And the money you're working for will be spent not only for our wedding, but also for our new house, for our family and for so many other things... You're doing a lot, did you hear me? A lot. Don't feel guilty." she replied.

He looked at her and nodded, motioning a small smile.

"Plus, it was hard, but we survived to this month, so... We can handle another twenty days, right? Just twenty days... And then, we can focus on the wedding and everything else, together." she continued, stroking his cheek.

He sighed and thought about the possible extra month. He did need to tell her.

"Babe, there's something I have to—" he started, but she cut him off.

"Caleb, it's okay. It's been a long day. Enough with talking..."

And with that, she started kissing him. He pulled away, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

"I thought you were tired..." he teased.

"Well... I still have a little energy to do _something_..." she smirked as well.

He smiled and kissed her again before taking her into his arms and carrying her to their bedroom. They stumpled to the bed never breaking the kiss, until Caleb climbed on top of Hanna. He restarted kissing and sucking on her neck as she lifted the hem of his shirt, then he parted from her skin just to get rid of the shirt before joining their lips together once again. His hands cupped each one of her breasts, still covered by her bra, giving them a light squeeze which made Hanna moan. He pushed her pants down, and the sight of her black lacy panties, matching with her bra, just made himself grow harder. She smiled at the look he gave her before sitting up and unclasping her bra for him. His eyes lit up at her newly exposed chest and he bit hard on his lower lip. Then, she took off her panties, never stopping to look into his eyes. He was left speechless by her beauty.

"You know... I think you got even more beautiful while I was away..." he muttered, not capable to look away from her flawless body.

"Yeah, well... I was saving it all for you." she replied, smiling.

Caleb bit his lip once again, before kneeling down in front of the edge of the bed. He grabbed each one of her legs and gently pulled her closer before parting them for him. Hanna had already closed her eyes knowing what was coming next. He slowly placed a trail of small kisses over her inner thigh until he reached her centre. He placed her legs over each one of his shoulders and finally his mouth came in contact with her core. Hanna jumped slightly, gripping the sheets between her fists. Caleb began pleasing her gently, slowly, but it didn't last too long before he was literally eating her. Hanna was now arching her back and squeezing her eyes, and she had also stopped containing her moans. The tip of his tongue suddenly did something into her which just made her see the stars and she released herself into his mouth. Caleb enjoyed her all and licked anything she had to give him before separating from her.

He took a moment to look at her flushed face and her —already— sex hair. She was still breathing heavily and her eyes were still closed from her orgasm. She was so beautiful. After a minute of recover, she managed to sit up and focused herself on him. She unbuckled his belt before unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans, then she pushed them down to his ankles. His arousal was clearly obvious through his boxers. Hanna placed one of her hand right above his crotch before squeezing his member through the material of his boxers. He let out a grunt and squeezed his eyes, making her smirk, then she hooked her thumbs into the waistband of his boxers and pushed them down to his ankles as well. She traced the tip of his member with her thumb, enjoying the way it throbbed under her touch. Caleb hissed and closed a fist through her hair.

"Baby, please..." he muttered.

Hanna bit her lip as she started stroking his member, slowly. Caleb kept grunting, even when she quickened the pace of her wrist, even when suddenly she welcomed him into her mouth. In that moment, Caleb's grasp through her hair became harder and his grunting turned into something which sounded more like moaning. She pumped in and out, taking it in its whole length and pleasing him with her tongue as well. At some point, Caleb lifted Hanna's head with one hand and she knew what he meant, so she stopped. He waited for her to lie back on the bed before climbing on top of her once again, kicking his jeans and everything else off in the process.

"No more foreplay..." he whispered before kissing her.

They kissed and kissed as Caleb's hands found her breasts and Hanna spreaded her legs for him. He settled himself between them as his mouth moved to one of her breasts.

"Now, Caleb... Please..." she pleaded, crossing her ankles behind his back.

He lifted his head slightly and kissed her gently before looking into her eyes and nodding. Then, he finally pushed his hips forward, connecting them, making Hanna jump slightly and bury her fingernails into his shoulders, as he let out a small sigh. His thrusts immediately went quick, hard and deep, and Hanna shifted beneath him, moaning his name over and over again. He took her hands in his as he kept slamming himself into her. That was until, with one last thrust, he allowed himself to let it go and she joined him right away.

* * *

"You really have to leave again, huh?" she murmured as they cuddled under the blankets a few minutes later.

She was lying on her stomach with her cheek smashed against his shoulder, while he was lying on his back and occasionally running his fingers down her bare back. He sighed when she heard her.

"C'mon, don't talk like this or I really won't manage to leave..." he whispered then.

"That'd be great, actually. Despite what I told you earlier, I'm not exactly looking forward these twenty days more away from you..."

Caleb stayed silent, realizing he had to tell her.

"Babe, I'm kidding... I mean, I'm not, but I know it's worth it. Plus you seem to be enjoying this kind of job, so I'm fine with that, even if it's not easy..." Hanna continued.

He kept being silent.

"Caleb? What is it?" she said then, lifting her head to look straight into his eyes.

"I... I need to talk to you." he murmured.

"Talk? What's going on?"

"It's about the shooting of the movie." he replied, lowering his gaze.

"Caleb, please, look at me when you're speaking." Hanna pleaded.

Caleb, then, lifted his gaze but didn't tell her anything else.

"I know this look... You need to tell me something important and you think it could piss me off. So... Tell me, let's see if you're right." she concluded.

She definitely knew him. He took a moment, but then he finally replied.

"You know... The contract I signed was for exactly fifty days of shooting. The thing is that the director had an idea about splitting the movie in two parts, and... Well, these fifty days would be just for the first of the two episodes. To shoot the second one, I should stay in Spain for another extra month."

Hanna remained silent, chewing on her lower lip.

"How long have you known about this?" she suddenly asked then.

"Since yesterday, just before taking off from Spain to come here."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because it wasn't the first thing that came up to my mind as soon as I saw you, you know... I... I just wanted to spend time with you, I took a break from anything related to the movie and I just thought about enjoying this time with you and Liam... I wanted to think about myself, my real life, my family."

Hanna sighed and shook her head, sitting up in bed.

"Caleb, I don't understand you. It wasn't the first thing that came up to your mind as soon as you saw me, you took a break from work... But to me, it seems like you immediately found the time to ask me about Alison. You also told me that the fact I hid you I knew her made you think that I didn't completely trust you, my fiancé, the man I want to marry. Damn, what about you? I even tried to understand you, I understood your reaction because you were right, we don't have to keep secrets from each other, we can tell each other anything, even the most stupid thing... Yeah. And then you, right you who talked so much about trusting and stuff, found the guts to tell me that we could stay away from each other two times longer just now, and just because the thing came up. Well, Caleb... Who's the one who doesn't trust the other now? Who's the one who hides something actually important? Who's the one who's about to get married with someone and can't tell this someone that their project is stealing time to be with their family? It's you, Caleb. And you didn't tell me something so important because you were scared I was going to be pissed, right? So please, explain me how can I not be pissed now. I wouldn't have attacked you, I wouldn't have been mad if you had told me soon, even by phone. I would have just understood. You're the one who doesn't trust me here, don't you see?" she snapped then.

"Hey, hey... I found out just yesterday morning... I was going to tell you, I wanted to tell you earlier, but—"

"Yeah, right. _Earlier_. Look, you should have told me something so important as soon as possible, not earlier. Just make me understand where I go wrong, please, tell me why you can't tell me some kind of things... Tell me why you don't feel totally comfortable with me!" she cut him off.

Caleb widened his eyes at her last statement.

"How can you think something like that?" he asked then.

"You're the one who makes me think something like that!"

Hanna looked disappointed. Caleb sighed and pursed his lips.

"I disappointed you, didn't I?" he asked softly, grabbing her hand.

"Yeah. '_Disappointed_' is right." she murmured.

Caleb bit his lip and sat up as well before continuing.

"Listen, they can't oblige me to stay for a month more, at least as long as I don't sign the second contract. I just... I would like to know what you think about it."

"What do you want me to say, Caleb? That I'm gonna miss you, that your son's gonna miss you, that your friends are gonna miss you, that we're getting married and we have planned basically nothing... Caleb, I don't want to nag you with the same old. You know I don't like not to have you around, but you also know that if something makes you happy, I'll always be fine with that. For once, make up your mind on your own. Ask yourself if it's worth it. Ask yourself if you're gonna manage not to see me and Liam for that long. Again, it's okay to me if it's okay to you. I really don't know what else I need to do to prove you that I trust you, while I'm not so sure of the other way around."

Caleb stayed silent for a few seconds, looking down at their still joined hands before speaking again.

"I never wanted to sign this new contract. But I swear, I was going to tell you about it, how can you think I wasn't? It would have been stupid, sooner or later you would have found out..."

Hanna lowered her eyes and started played with the messy blankets with her free hand, where her engagement ring was. She didn't reply, though, so Caleb continued.

"Hanna, I swear to God, I do trust you. Okay, I made a mistake not telling you sooner, but... Maybe I didn't because I already knew I wasn't going to sign. Look, that piece of paper it's not a big deal to me like you think it is. I like the job, yeah, but my priority are you and Liam, I accepted it just for you two, and a month apart was already too long to handle. I'm going to be back home for good in twenty days, end of the story."

"You don't have to make the choice that makes _me_ happy. You have to make the choice that makes _you_ happy." she told him seriously, resuming eye-contact with him.

"I did. Even before coming back." he replied firmly.

"I hope so."

He sighed again before squeezing her hand.

"Look, if now you think I don't trust you, I get it, because you're right about the fact that I made a mistake. But I will do anything to make you change your mind. But now, please, let's not talk about the movie or Alison or the contract anymore. Please." he replied softly.

Hanna sighed as well and pursed her lips. Caleb hated making her feel that way, disappointed, sad and who knows what else. He felt like he always gave her a good reason to fight, and she didn't deserve it.

But despite anything, he loved her and she loved him.

"You know, I didn't forget that you love me, though." she whispered after a few moments of silence.

Caleb smiled slightly at her and she suddenly engulfed his body into a tight hug.

"I _really_ love you." he whispered, returning the hug.

"I know. I love you too." she replied softly.

He pulled away and cupped her face into his hands, kissing her gently.

"I'm sorry, I'm an idiot." he told her then.

She smiled slightly.

"_My_ idiot, let's go to sleep now, okay?" she replied simply.

Caleb smiled back and nodded, lying back down on the mattress and pulling Hanna down with him. She buried her face in the crook of his neck as he circled her shoulders before placing a kiss on the top of her head.

* * *

**A/N: Hi guys! First of all, thank you as always for all of your reviews. I'm seriously impressed :) And I'm so happy you enjoyed last chapter, it wasn't easy to write but reading your amazing comments makes me think that it was totally worth it :) So... What about this one? So far it's the longest of the story... It's over 5k words, I didn't realize it :O I hope it wasn't too heavy to read! Did you enjoy Emma's birthday party? And, yes, there was a little argument in the end, but it kinda had to be... It's not like I enjoy making them fight, but I guess that's normal to have a few couple issues, beside fluff and everything, especially in their situation, with Caleb leaving again :( That being said, get ready for next chapter because it's gonna be...intense. Very intense. Can't tell you more! ...So excited for the PLL Finale tomorrow! And, aw, how cute was Haleb last week? They're the best, stop :) Caleb is the most caring and sweetest guy ever :D Anyway, let me know what you think of the chapter, of course :) I also updated GoW, go take a look if you want to ;) I'll be waiting for your comments, as usual :) Love you guys! xx -Atramea.**


	20. Chapter 20

When Caleb woke up, Hanna wasn't there in bed. He turned to look at the alarm, which signed seven am. It was early, his flight was at half past eleven. He just thought she was in the bathroom, so he slipped into his sweats and walked to Liam's room to see if he was sleeping. And he was there, still sound asleep. Caleb, then, closed the door paying attention not to be loud and noticed that the door of the bathroom was open and that Hanna wasn't in there.

He walked then to the living room and finally saw her. She was sitting on the couch, crossed legs, with her laptop on her lap. But he immediately noticed that she was crying. She hadn't noticed him yet, so he stood there where he was and waited for a few seconds. She was staring at the screen of her laptop with her eyes filled with tears.

"Babe... What's wrong?" he finally asked, coming closer to her.

Hanna lifted her gaze and gave him a dead glance.

"So? What is it, why are you crying? You're making me worry..." he continued.

She just glanced at him again, still crying, before storming upstairs. She left the laptop on the couch, though. Caleb wasn't understanding anything, so he grabbed the laptop and what his eyes saw cleared his mind. It was a tabloid website. There was this article with CeCe's name written in the title, wondering who her new love interest was. Underneath the title there was a picture with CeCe and Caleb walking to their hotel, their arms around each other. Caleb sighed. That scene clearly belonged to the night he had gotten drunk, when she had walked him to the hotel. He didn't even remember that, but it was easy to understand...only for him, though.

He closed the laptop and ran up the stairs, calling Hanna. He had to explain, he had to clarify about that misunderstanding, which had unfortunately come up not in a good moment, as if she wasn't enough jealous, as if there wasn't enough tension already. He finally found her, she was on the balcony of their bedroom, smoking. She was shaking and still crying.

"Han, but... You stopped smoking..." he instinctively said as soon as he saw a cigarette between her fingers.

She had stopped smoking when she had gotten pregnant and she had never restarted after Liam's birth. Hanna ignored Caleb and lightened up her cigarette.

"Hey, I can explain everything, don't get the wrong idea..." he continued then.

Hanna turned around and slapped his face, hard.

"Stop! Stop making up excuses! Come back to Spain, come back there as soon as possible!" she yelled, furious.

"Hanna, believe me, it's not like you think!" he replied, touching the cheek of his which she had hit.

"I don't want to listen to you anymore... Just... Just tell me who that whore is and how long your thing has been going on!"

"What thing? What? That girl is one of the actresses of the movie and that picture was taken the first night, when I got drunk. She just walked me back to the hotel because I couldn't stand on my own feet, there's nothing else to say."

"Sure, Caleb. You two had a great evening together, huh? That's why you spent the night together too, right? You were even drunk!"

"That's not what happened! I spent the evening with her, that's true, because neither she nor I knew anyone of the cast, so we went to a pub together... What's wrong about that? Then I drank a little too much because I was nervous because of our fight, and she just took me back to the hotel because I couldn't manage to get there on my own. That's it. I don't want to talk about trusting anymore, shit, but you can't trust a picture on a stupid website instead of trusting _me_!"

"Yeah. Let's face the reality, Caleb. Before you went away, we had some problems. I thought we solved them, but... Well, I don't really know now. Then you went away, and since you went away, everything's a shit. Now you're back for the weekend, but... I can pass over the fact that you got mad at me because I hadn't told you about Alison. I can pass over the fact that you didn't tell me soon about the extra month you could spend in Spain. I can pass over this fucking picture too, but it's not possible that there's an excuse for any single thing. You know, it's not just about this picture. It's about _everything_. This... This was just the last thing of a series of a thousand things. So, since we're here now... Is there anything else you need to tell me? This is your chance to."

Caleb stayed silent, but lowered his gaze and bit his bottom lip. Hanna hoped that question was rhetorical, but his reaction clearly showed that it wasn't like she thought. She sighed and shook her head.

"Just talk!" she snapped then.

Caleb wasn't obliged to tell her, but he felt like he had to be completely honest at that point. He didn't want to hide anything else from her. It hadn't brought him anything good. So he took a deep breath before finally replying.

"We've slept in the same room. But just because her room was—"

"This is freaking unbelievable! Don't go on, I've heard enough. I can't do this, I just can't... I'm sorry, I can't." Hanna cut him off abruptly.

She turned then around and took a long drag from her cigarette, without stopping to cry. Then, Caleb sighed and tried to say something, knowing that explaining why he and CeCe had slept in the same room could have just made things worse.

"What do I have to do?"

"What do you have to do for what?"

"What I have to do...not to hurt you. If you want me to leave the movie, I will. If you want me not to go back to Spain, I won't. But tell me what I have to do. Please."

"No way. You have to finish your work with this movie now, and you also have to do that with the extra month, if necessary. It's important to you, that's the right thing. Even if it's causing all of this trouble, you don't have to give up on it. You know, maybe... Maybe it's me the problem here, Caleb."

"That's not true..."

"Yes, it is. If you want to do something for me, you have to go back to Spain. And we don't have to see each other if you will have another free weekend. We don't have to see each other when you can come back here. We don't even have to talk by phone. If you want to see Liam, you'll talk to Ezra, Aria, my mom, _someone_, then you'll come back here and see him, with no problems. But you won't see _me_. I need some time, Caleb. I need to think on my own right now, I... I need to understand what's wrong. When you're done with the movie, we'll talk about this. But right now, I need to be left alone. So, if you really want to do something for me, that's all you have to do."

Caleb stayed silent, staring at her. He could feel his own eyes getting watery, and he started nervously moving his tongue over his own lips.

"I... I don't want to." was everything he managed to say then.

"I wouldn't either. But I think that's the right thing to do right now." Hanna replied, taking another drag from her cigarette.

Caleb sighed deeply before replying.

"Are you sure? Is that what you really want me to do?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember how much we suffer the distance, Hanna?"

"There's no need for you to remind me, I know that. Go say goodbye to Liam and just leave, please."

"But... It's still early for my flight, it's just half past seven..."

"I know, I'm sorry. But I don't think Ezra and Aria won't let you in if you go to them. You'd better leave now, Caleb. Otherwise, I won't calm myself down." she said, tossing her cigarette away, over by now.

A few tears streamed down Caleb's cheeks. All of that hurt him. Hurt both of them. But she was proud as hell, she acted strong even if she felt herself dying inside thinking about the idea of not even hearing from him for a whole month.

"Okay, like you want." he murmured looking down, while Hanna was with her back at him, sobbing.

"Thanks." she replied icily, without turning around.

"But... Remember that I love you, I never cheated on you and I will never do that."

She didn't turn around. Caleb, then, just went back inside, he got dressed and then stopped by Liam's room. He was awake, in his little bed, rubbing his own face against the pillow. It was like he knew his daddy would come to say goodbye right then. It was like he was waiting for him. Caleb approached the kid and picked him up, holding him tightly to his chest.

"Little man, daddy has to leave now, but I promise I'll come back soon." he whispered to him, kissing the top of his head.

He looked up at him and smiled, maybe a little sadly, but it was still a smile. After all, Liam wasn't really talkative in the early morning.

"I'm gonna miss you so much, buddy. But I'll come visit you as soon as I can, alright?" Caleb continued.

Liam nodded, then Caleb gave him a kiss before putting him into his playpen, where he had all of his toys.

"Mommy's gonna be here soon, okay?" he added before getting out of the room.

But then Liam called him.

"Daddy!"

He came back into the room.

"What is it, little man?" he replied with a lump in his throat.

Liam smiled again, then he picked up his teddy bear from his playpen and handed it to Caleb.

"Do you want me to take it with me? Do you want daddy to keep it?" Caleb asked his son then.

"Yes, so you can remember me." Liam replied.

At that, Caleb restarted crying. He grabbed the teddy bear and kissed Liam's forehead.

"Daddy remembers you. He always thinks about you, you're always in his heart. Don't worry. I'll see you soon, little man. Be a good kid with mommy and don't make her angry, okay?" he said then.

Liam nodded briefly before waving at his daddy, then Caleb finally found the guts to get out of his room. He finished packing, putting into his suitcase Liam's teddy bear as well, and took everything downstairs, where Hanna was.

"Liam's awake. He's into his playpen." he told her.

"Okay." she replied, looking down.

He stayed silent for a few seconds before sighing and finally speaking again.

"Bye."

"Bye."

He was dying to kiss her, but he respected her more than his own life, so he decided not to. He just looked at her one last time before closing the door, but she didn't lifted her gaze.

* * *

It was around eight 'o clock, so Caleb went to some bar to have breakfast. A bar he didn't know, in order to avoid to meet someone he knew that could have asked him a thousand questions. He didn't feel sad, he felt _empty_. He was wondering how the hell Hanna had come across that fucking picture, he was wondering how he had been able to ruin everything in a weekend, he was cursing himself for being so stupid. He couldn't lose Hanna, he just couldn't. And he swore to himself he wouldn't.

He walked around the city without a destination for a while. He looked at the streets of LA feeling like a total idiot. He saw a guy walking with his girlfriend and a little boy, and thought about himself, Hanna and Liam not so long ago, even if it felt decades earlier. Then, he called Ezra, telling him he was coming over for a little and that he would explain everything later. So he got there, and Ezra opened the door.

"Hey, man, come in." Ezra told him, helping him with the suitcase.

Once he got inside, he also saw Aria.

"Hi, Caleb." she said, smiling a little sadly.

"Hi, Aria." he replied, knowing it was highly possible she already knew everything, since she had probably spoken to Hanna.

They all sat on the couch, awkwardly.

"So, what happened?" Ezra asked.

Before Caleb could reply, Aria said something.

"Caleb, don't feel underpressure if I'm here. I spoke to Hanna, she called me, so I know what happened, but I'll let you talk, of course."

Caleb nodded gratefully at her, then he sighed and tried to explain everything.

"I'm an idiot. Yesterday, after Emma's birthday party, everything seemed okay. We made love, we were fine. But then, well... It's possible that I have to stay in Spain for another month besides these twenty days, and I told her just last night, even though I knew it from the day before. She got mad, because the night before I told her she didn't trust me since she didn't tell me she knew one of the actresses of the movie I'm working for. She told me that was bullshit, while what I didn't tell her was way more important. And she's right. However, one way or another we let this mistake of mine go, because it's me the same idiot who goes wrong. This morning, though, Hanna found a picture on some website. It was a picture of me and one of the actresses entering our hotel holding each other. Hanna was furious. She literally broke down. I explained that too. The picture was taken during my first night in Spain. That same day I had a fight with Hanna on the phone, amd I was pretty nervous. This girl, CeCe, didn't know anyone of the cast just like me, so we just went for drinks in sone pub. But then I got drunk because I was nervous since I had that fight with Hanna, so CeCe had to walk me back to the hotel. We were kind of hugging each other because I couldn't walk on my own. Hanna said that even if that was the truth, she's tired of all of this situation. Tired of fighting everyday for a different thing, tired of talking about trusting, and then I have to go back there again, and... The whole situation is just so hard. I also told her the whole truth, that is that CeCe and I slept in the same room, but just because the elevator was broken, CeCe didn't know where I had the keys, and... Nothing happened, of course. But... It's just so messed up, shit. I screwed everything up. And now I'm leaving again, and... It sucks. Anyway... She asked me for some time. She doesn't want to hear from me or see me until I'm done with the work in Spain. She needs to think about everything. She basically kicked me out, but she has all the reasons to. Even if... Even if I know she's gonna feel like shit and I feel the same way too because it's just my fault if she's come to that point. I said goodbye to Liam and I walked around the city for a little... And now here I am."

The room fell silent for a few seconds.

"What about Liam? If you can come back here for another weekend, you won't be able to see him either?" Ezra asked then.

"Hanna thought about that, of course. She told me that I can see him, she would never forbid me that. She just told me I'll have to talk to one of you guys, or maybe Ashley, so the two of us won't have to talk directly."

Ezra sighed before putting his hand on Caleb's shoulder.

"I see. How are you?" he asked then.

"Crappy. And the thought she feels the same just make me feel worse." Caleb replied.

"Caleb, she didn't break up with you. You're not gonna lose her." Ezra continued.

"But I'd deserve it."

"And why is that? It's not like you cheated on her..."

"Of course not. I would never do that. But the thing is that I love her, and I should just make her happy, but... I just feel like I can't do that. I'm not capable."

At that point, Aria bursted in.

"Don't talk like this. If you love someone, you suffer. It can be always everything perfect, Caleb. And don't say you don't deserve her, because that's something that only Hanna can decide. And as long as you guys are together, you belong to her. She loves you, she loves you so much. And you know it. These last months have been tough, the situation was a little tense, but... But let some time pass and you'll see everything more clear. Hanna's gonna let you come back to her like she always did. You guys have been through so much, Caleb. The love the two of you have is too strong to give in to something that frivolous."

Caleb saw Aria teary-eyed while speaking to him. He forced a little smile and nodded slightly before replying.

"Maybe you're right... Two people who love each other may lose each other, but if they want to, they will always find each other again. Always."

* * *

**A/N: First of all, I'm sooo sorry for the long wait! This chapter was so damn hard to write plus writing Haleb fight is always difficult :/ But it had to happen. I've already the whole story planned, so I need all of these things to happen. Just trust me, okay? ;) Please don't think that Hanna overreacted. She broke down because of the whole situation, like she said, not just about the CeCe thing. You know, always fighting, Caleb leaving, trust issues... That's it. So, I'm not going to say that I hope you liked the chapter since it's pretty tough because of the angsty Haleb, but I hope you felt some kind of emotion anyway :) and I'm so glad you appreciated the last chapter, your reviews never fail to make me smile :) So, yeah, if you keep reviewing I'll keep being so happy ;) Anyway, guys, I'm so upset because the Hanna/Jordan engagement after the time jump. Now it seems official, but I've always thought Hanna wasn't going to be with Caleb then. I kinda had a feeling. Okay, it's true that it would have been pretty unrealistic that all the couples would be together after the time jump, but to me seems pretty unrealistic split them all too :/ Seriously? At least Haleb deserved a chance, in my opinion. Anyway, I'm not happy at all about this, but I'll try to deal with it. One thing I can't absolutely deal with, though, if it's actually true — and I REALLY hope it's not —, it's Spaleb happening...romantically. Seriously, I think I'm going to be sick if it's real. Marlene would screw everything up with that move... Haleb, Spoby, Spanna (!), Taleb, the Spaleb friendship indeed. I hate these rumors, it makes me scared about watching the show in January. Seriously, I'm scared. Sometimes I just feel like it was better ending the whole show after 6x10, even though I didn't like the reveal. But, I mean, if things are going to be like that after the time jump... Shit, I don't even want to think about it. Years and years of following and supporting PLL would be wasted. Okay, I'm gonna stop being so depressing, also after a sad chapter xD Let's hope we just got the wrong idea! Haleb will make it through it as always, let's be positive :) Again, thank you all for reading and reviewing! Let me know what you think of the chapter ;) Oh, next chapter you will also have a Caleb/Ashley moment. Then who knows what's coming up? :) Have a nice day! Love! xx -Atramea.**


	21. Chapter 21

After spending some time at the Fitz's and after begging Aria to support Hanna, Caleb decided it was time to go to the airport. Aria and Ezra offered to drive him there, but he told them he preferred to take a cab on his own. Once the taxi driver was there, Caleb put his suitcase in the trunk and hopped into the vehicle.

"Where are we going, man?" the driver asked.

Caleb was about to say 'to the airport', but he suddenly felt like he had to say goodbye to Ashley before leaving. He felt like he had to, he didn't really know why, so he just told the driver Ashley's address, asking if it was possible to go to the airport after that. The driver said there was no problem, then the cab speeded away as Caleb thanked him.

After a little while, they got to Ashley's house. Caleb assured the driver he wouldn't use so long, then he exited the cab and walked to the front door of the house, knocking. Ashley opened after a few seconds.

"Hi, Ashley." he greeted her.

"Hey, Caleb... What are you doing here? Come in!"

"No, thanks but I can't, the cab's waiting for me. I... I just stopped to say goodbye. I'm going to the airport, I'm coming back to Spain."

"Yeah, I knew you were leaving today. And I'm glad you stopped here. But... Where's Hanna? Doesn't she come to the airport with you?"

He sighed deeply before replying.

"Well... Things between Hanna and me are a little...messed up, at the moment."

"What? Last time I checked, everything seemed okay..."

"Yeah. And it was. But... It only takes a moment for me to make a mess. I'm an idiot, Ashley."

"That is not true. But... Are you telling me you guys broke up?" the woman asked, visibly worried.

"No, no. God, no. But... She asked me for some time. We're not gonna see each other for a little while."

Ashley stayed silent for a few seconds before speaking again.

"What about Liam?" she asked then, not wanting to step in her daughter and Caleb's relationship nor making him questions too specific.

"I'll be able to see him whenever I want. Hanna would never take him away from me." Caleb replied.

Ashley just nodded.

"Ashley, believe me, I didn't want to make her suffer again." he added then, sincerely.

The woman smiled a little at him.

"I know, Caleb. I know. Look... I'm not aware of what exactly happened between you and my daughter, and that's not my business, but... Things like fights or arguments and stuff, well, they happen between two people who love each other. And you and Hanna definitely do. You guys will get through this, I'm sure about that. Hanna loves you way too much to let you go like this." she told him comprehensively.

"I hope so... I'll do whatever it takes not to break our bound. Whatever. I promise."

Ashley smiled.

"Come here, honey." she said then, spreading her arms.

Caleb hugged her. God, he had such an amazing mother-in-law-to-be.

"You'll see, it's gonna be okay. Nothing and no one can break you two apart, that's for sure. Soon you're gonna become her husband and you both are gonna laugh thinking about this stupid fight." she continued, smiling at him while pulling away.

"Thank you, Ashley. Thank you. I'm sorry, Hanna wouldn't deserve all of this, and please don't think I came here to you to be somehow justified or to make a gesture or something, and don't tell her I stopped here, I don't want her to think that... I... I just wanted to—"

"Hey, Caleb... Breathe. I know, okay? I know. And I love both you and Hanna. I'm sure it's gonna be okay, trust me." she cut him off.

"Yeah, yeah... Thank you."

"Stop thanking me and go now, or you're gonna miss your flight." she smiled then.

"Sure. Bye, Ashley. I'll see you soon."

"Bye, Caleb. Good luck."

Caleb smiled gratefully at her before turning around and walking back to the cab. He hoped into it and speeded toward the airport.

He was a little relieved after talking to Ashley.

* * *

Caleb got to the airport in perfect time. He paid the kind driver and took his luggages from the trunk, walking to the entrance. His suitcase seemed to weight more, and Caleb wanted to think that it was fault of his son's teddy bear, but he knew that it was because of the huge melancholy he felt inside. While waiting for the check-in, he looked for some happiness into the strangers' eyes, hoping it would make him feel better. But it didn't work. He felt the collar of his purple shirt arrogantly tighten around his neck. That shirt was a present from Hanna. She gave it to him without a reason, it wasn't a particular occasion or his birthday. She did it just because she liked how it suited him, that was what she had said.

Then, his mobile rang.

His heart skipped a beat when he saw it was Hanna.

"Hanna?" he immediately picked up.

"Caleb, I... I couldn't let you leave like that..." she murmured.

Caleb bit hard on his lower lip.

"Hanna—" he began again, but she cut him off.

"No, listen, I didn't change my mind. You already know how I feel about this, I just... I won't call anymore after this, but... I just wanted to know if you're okay, if you reached the airport and everything..."

He smiled a little at that.

"I'm fine. I'm checking in." he replied then.

"Alright."

"Hey... Remember that I love you. Always." he said then, biting his lip again.

She sighed through the speaker before replying.

"Caleb... All of this will help us."

Caleb sighed as well.

"If that's what you think... Okay. But don't be too proud... If you need me, you have to call me. You _have to_." he replied then.

"No, I won't. Just let things this way for a while, please."

"Fine. I'll respect your choice, but... Well, I had to try. Anyway, thank you so much for the call. I would have hated leaving this way. It's my fault, though. You... Take this time to think and make up your mind, but... Be aware of the fact that I want to marry you when I'm back. And I want you to know also that if I had known before that this fucking movie would cause all of this mess between us, well, I would have never accepted the job. Despite how cool the work is, despite the money, despite anything. You... You're more important than anything... You're my life. You and Liam are my life, seriously. And I don't want to lose him... Nor you."

"You should...probably go now." she replied in a whisper.

Caleb sighed deeply.

"Okay, I... I love you." he murmured, not ready for their call to end.

"Bye." she whispered.

Caleb wanted to say something else, but he couldn't because she had already hung up. He rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath. At least she called him. But he just wanted everything to go back the way it was before.

* * *

Caleb landed in Spain at seven fourty-five of Monday morning. He had to go back to work around half past two in the afternoon, so he decided to get some rest in his hotel room. He took from his suitcase Liam's teddy bear and held it tight to his chest, lying on the bed. It felt so uncomfortable thinking about his own bed. He fell asleep drowning into the only thought of Hanna, melancholic and sweet at the same time.

As soon as he woke up, he thought about texting Hanna, but then he decided to avoid it, because he had to respect her. Then, when it was time to go, he went to the set. And the first person who saw when he got there, was right her.

_Alison_.

She walked to him, smiling that false smile of hers. Caleb met her halfway, trying to keep himself calm.

"Caleb... How was your weekend?" she asked.

"It was nice to spend some time with my family, thanks. What about yours?"

"It was great, I recovered some energy!" she replied excitedly.

"Yeah. Look, Alison... Why didn't you tell me the truth about you and Hanna?" he finally asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What was I supposed to say?" she replied cockily.

He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath before replying.

"Well... For example, that you know each other, and then that you... Let's say that you _gave her trouble_ a few years ago."

Alison chuckled.

"Oh, c'mon... It's been years. What was the point of telling you? Besides, if it wasn't for me, Hanna would have never left Rosewood to come to LA, so you would have never met her. You should thank me, don't you think?" she replied.

Caleb's nerves were jumping up and down like crazy by now.

"Maybe you weren't supposed to tell me, that's true, but at least you could have spared to ask me to send her your bests. What was your purpose? It was obvious that I would find out the truth, I really don't understand what game you were playing. Plus, I don't have to thank you for anything at all." he replied firmly.

"Well... I didn't want to say that, but... If Hanna had never met me, she would also probably still look like a cow. You would have never been interested in that girl, trust me. So... You could thank me at least for that, couldn't you?" she shrugged.

Caleb clenched his fists and had to close his eyes to find the strength to hold himself back. He just wanted to punch that bitch on the face. She was lucky he was a real gentleman who would never even touch a girl. So, after taking a deep breath, he managed to reply without doing anything else, even though the vein on his temple was swollen and twitching.

"You don't even deserve an answer, Alison. Don't you dare say those things again. You should just be ashamed of the person you are. You seem to be the same bitch Hanna told me about. You didn't change at all. Just thank your lucky stars that you're a woman, because if you were a man, I would have punched you so hard that you would have regretted to be alive."

Once he said that, he had to walk away, just to be careful, glancing at her with pure disgust. Then, he bumped into CeCe.

"Caleb, hey... How are you doing?" she asked, smiling.

"Hi... Well, let's say that I had better days, but thanks. What about you?"

"I'm fine, thank you. Something's wrong with Hanna, if you don't mind me ask?"

Caleb shrugged, smiling sadly.

"More or less. I don't even know if there's actually something wrong between us, anyway she has all the reasons of this world to turn her back on me." he replied then.

"I see... I hope that's nothing serious, though. However, if you want to talk, I'm here." she smiled.

"Thank you." he replied sincerely.

"I'm sorry if I'm asking you all of these questions, but... Something happened with Alison too? I saw you guys before, it looked like there was some..._tension_?"

"Yeah, but I'd rather not talk about it. I think it's time to start working, CeCe." Caleb replied quickly.

"Sure, you're right."

* * *

**A/N: So Caleb's back in Spain :( I hope you were happy about Hanna calling him before he left the country, though :) And I also hope you liked the little Caleb/Ashley moment ;) And then, yep, finally you had your Caleb/Ali exchange :P What about it? Anyway, as always, thank you so much for reviewing last chapter :) I'm really happy you enjoyed it even if it was pretty though, and I'm glad the story keeps interesting you even if it's coming a little long :D But I promise there will be some big reveals in the next chapter! Caleb will find out a lot of things, and he's not gonna be very happy about that :/ So, that's all for now. Let me know if you enjoyed this chapter and/or whatever you want to let me know :):) Next chapter of GoW is almost ready too, stay tuned ;) Have you all a nice day! (Un saluto speciale a Gioy, sono molto felice di ritrovarti qui, finalmente! :D ) xx -Atramea.**


	22. Chapter 22

It was ten days that Caleb had come back to Spain.

He had spent the whole time thinking about Hanna, Liam, and his life that was waiting for him in LA. He was trying to focus on the movie and not to think too much about that, but he just couldn't help it. He called Ezra more than once a day to ask about Hanna, to know how she was doing, what she was doing, and of course to know about Liam as well. It hurt him not even to hear her voice by phone, also knowing she was mad at him. It was hard, but he believed in their love.

So, after ten days like that, tense because of all those thoughts, he decided to take a night for himself. He went to the beach, just like he had done his first night in Benidorm, and smoked a cigarette on his own. And just like that night, CeCe came up to him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she walked to him.

He raised his eyebrows as he became aware of her presence.

"Nothing. I don't know what to do, I... If I'm in hotel, I don't do anything but stare at my phone waiting for a call that's never gonna come... So it's better for me to be here. At least there's no signal, so I can't have false hopes." he shrugged.

"Sorry, but... Why don't you make that call instead of waiting for it?"

"Because the person I would call wouldn't pick up, besides I promised them I wouldn't disturbe." he replied, taking a drag from his cigarette.

There was an awkward silence which lasted for a few seconds before Caleb spoke again.

"What about you, why are you here?"

"Well... I come here everynight, actually." CeCe replied.

He chuckled slightly before continuing.

"Isn't that... Boring?"

"No, it's not. Actually, I like looking at the ocean by night, it makes my waiting less bitter."

"What do you wait for?" Caleb asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I'm waiting for someone."

"Who?"

"A guy... A guy who can make me feel good."

"So... You wait for him to fall down from the sky or... To come out of the ocean?" he asked again, smiling.

"He's here now." CeCe replied firmly, glancing up at him.

He froze.

"What?" he murmured.

"I was hoping you would come here." she continued.

"CeCe, I really don't get it..."

"It's not that hard, Caleb. It's very easy, easier than you think it is... I was hoping to see you again like that night, here, just the two of us. I... I like you. That's it. I feel good when I'm with you, and I don't care if you don't do anything but say that you love your fiancé... I can't help it, I've only been thinking about you lately. Admit it, Caleb. Admit that we're good when we're together, because I know you feel the same... When you're with me, you manage to put aside your mess of private life in LA at least for a little while..."

Caleb stayed silent and still, staring at her, totally confused. Then, he threw away his half-smoked cigarette and tried to reply.

"CeCe, look... I'm sorry if you misunderstood something, but... There's only Hanna to me. I love her, more than I can express with words."

"Of course... You love her. If she hadn't already been in your life when you and I first met, everything would have been so easy between us... I know we're attracted to each other, I know that. I can feel it. Caleb, you can't deny it just because you're about to marry her!"

"Hey, hey, hey... Hold on. You're a gorgeous girl, it's true. But again, I'm a man completely and utterly in love with his fiancé, in love with the life he created with her with much sacrifice but always with endless love... And this man doesn't want to lose any of that for any reason. Don't you see me? I don't do anything but think about her and our kid. I feel like shit because things between us are not great at the moment... And because I miss her. I can't wait to be home again and I can't wait to make her my wife. I'm sorry, CeCe, but... That's it. Nothing's gonna happen between me and you." Caleb cut her off.

CeCe started silently crying at that. He sighed before hugging her lightly, because he truly felt sorry for her. CeCe had always been kind and everything with him, after all. She didn't return the hug but didn't push him away either, keeping to cry against his shoulder. After a minute, she pulled away and looked up at him, wiping her tears away.

"I'm sorry..." she murmured.

"Don't worry, you don't have to be." he replied, giving her a small smile.

"Oh, no... I _definitely_ have to, believe me. You need to know some things... About me, about Alison... And also about your fiancé, someway..."

Caleb furrowed his eyebrows at that, staring at her with wide eyes.

"What are you talking about?" he asked then.

"We need to talk. I need to tell you everything..."

Then, Caleb and CeCe went a few steps further, where there was a bench. They sat down and she took a deep breath before finally speaking up.

"Listen, Caleb... Before anything, I want you to know that I regret what I did. But now it's right for you to know..."

"Talk!" Caleb insisted.

"Well... First of all, Alison and I have known each other for years. And we're good friends. It's not true that we first met at the casting for this movie, I've known her for a long time."

"Why lying about that? I don't see your point..." he said after a few seconds, processing her words.

"You will understand soon. So, I'm not gonna beat around the bush... Look, Caleb... There won't be any second episode of the movie, nor another contract. We're going to complete our month, and then, in ten days, we're all gonna be home. It was all a lie, Alison's idea. But I cooperated. We...cheated on you."

"What?" Caleb asked, widening his eyes even more.

"Yeah, you got it."

"But... Why?"

"Caleb, Alison hates Hanna. She never forgot her. She told me they had a few misunderstandings in high school, and—"

He couldn't believe what she was saying.

"Do you even know what happened between them at that time, CeCe?" Caleb cut her off abruptly.

CeCe sighed before continuing.

"No, actually. Alison didn't want to tell me the whole story. She said it was a long one, so... She just told me Hanna was a bitch, and... Well, she used you to hurt her. Alison wanted to, and I helped her. I believed Hanna deserved to be punished for something, I mean, Alison is my friend, I believed her, but then I heard from you about Hanna, and I understood that she's not the bitch Ali says, so... I'm sorry."

Caleb shook his head, totally incredulous. _Hanna was a bitch? _That was absolutely unbelievable.

"Your friend hates Hanna just because she's freaking insane... She's probably pissed or jealous or God-knows-what because Hanna has a beautiful life and because she made it without her. Alison may be an actress, but the person she is...is a _failure_. Hanna may be a simple shop assistant, but the person she is...is _not_ a failure. That's the difference. Life doesn't depends by your job, but by the _person_ you are. And Alison is totally rotten to the core. So, if you want to do something with your life, I suggest you not to make her play with you like you're one of her puppets. She seems to really like manipulating people and their lives... And just for the record, Alison was the bitch with Hanna, not the other way around."

CeCe didn't reply at that.

"So, let me get this straight... You two told me about this second episode just to try to create some trouble between Hanna and me?" he asked then, wanting to know everything.

"Yes."

"Jesus, this is absolutely insane. But... You made it, congratulations. I should have asked Albaruenta first, shit... Haven't you thought that I could've found out by doing that?"

"There's a lot of things you don't know, Caleb... Alison and Manuel Albaruenta are in a relationship. Alison could be _very_ persuasive, she wouldn't have used too long to make sure he told you some bullshit to keep her plan up..."

"Unbelievable..." was the only thing Caleb managed to murmur, looking away from her.

"I'm sorry. Anyway, this plan has been going on from the day you came here to Benidorm..."

"So the bullshit of the extra month is not your only insane idea... Sure... The picture of the two of us together in front of the hotel..." Caleb continued, starting to put the pieces together.

"Yeah, that was part of the plan too. But look... I went out with you because I wanted to, then... Then, when you got drunk, I took advantage of the situation, so I called Ali and she came to where we were to take the picture, then she sent it to a few gossip websites... And... She was also the one who sent a link to one of those sites to Hanna by email, using a private address, just to make sure she would see the picture. Let's say that Alison wanted me to spend time with you in order to make you trust me."

"So that you could betray it. You're two bitches, seriously. What you two did is inconceivable... You knew there was also a little kid involved in all of this, I can't believe you could be so cruel... I understood how Alison is by now, you know. She's a person who's not worth a shit, and what she did only confirms that. But you... I really didn't imagine that you were like her. I trusted you, I thought I had found a nice person besides a nice coworker. But I was extremely wrong... I can't wait for this fucking movie to be over, so I can finally come back to LA to Hanna, the person I love the most in this world. Fuck you, CeCe. I don't want you anywhere near me anymore." he concluded harshly, getting up from the bench and starting to walk away.

"Wait, Caleb!" she called, grabbing his arm.

"What the hell do you still want from me?" he yelled furiously, shaking her hand off him.

CeCe took another deep breath before answering.

"At first, I helped Alison because she's my friend, and I didn't think too much about how bad was what I was doing, but then... You know, I understood it was wrong, but I kept going because I realized that while Alison was doing that to hurt Hanna, I was doing that for another reason... To make you and her break up. Because I wanted you, and actually, I still do... But now I decided to tell you the whole truth, because I understood that there's nothing I can do, that you only want her and I just have to stop. That's none of my business, it should have never been... Forgive me, if you can."

He just looked at her with pure disgust before walking away, still incredulous about what he had just found out.

That movie had been a complete nightmare, right from day one.

* * *

Caleb was totally upset. He started walking around the small town with no destination. He thought about how absurd what had happened to him was, about everything that Alison and CeCe's lies had caused. Then, he reached a small motorbike rental shop and decided to do something. He was furious and needed some kind of outburst. The shop was closing, but he managed to rent a motorbike just in time, paying for that to keep it for a couple of days. He stopped by a near gas station and then, after putting the helmet on, he finally hopped on the seat.

It was night, he didn't know the place, he hadn't slept much, the thoughts running into his mind weren't good at all... And he was driving a motorbike. He kept going for half an hour, then he stopped somewhere to smoke a cigarette. From where he was, he could see the ocean, so he tried to relax enjoying the view, but it didn't work. Then he wanted to call Ezra to talk to him because he really needed to, but his phone battery was dead. That made him even tenser. He didn't even remember the way back to the hotel, he didn't know where he exactly was and he was upset. He threw the cigarette away and restarted the engine of the bike.

He drove and drove, without knowing where he was going. He increased the speed more and more as the ride went on. He felt in danger and didn't do anything to avoid it. He was almost enjoying the feeling.

The darkness, the lack of caution, the fact he didn't know the streets, the anger.

Two lights hit him into his eyes, then he felt the taste of the asphalt, and then... _Pain_.

And then, everything went black.

* * *

**A/N: A chapter full of reveals and with a cliffhanger at the end for you guys! :) Also, a quick update because I thought you were waiting for the truth... And here it is ;) Congratulations, Laura, you guessed correctly! Good job ;) But Caleb's dad is not involved :) So, what do you guys think about CeCe now? She seemed nice but actually she was just trying to steal Caleb from Hanna while playing Alison's puppet... :/ Poor Haleb :( That was really mean of Ali and CeCe, I know. Well, at least there's no second episode, right? But what about the end? What happened to Caleb? :O So... I promised you would have a crazy chapter and I hope I surprised you with this, let me know if you enjoyed it :) And for the next chapter, despite how bad this one ended, I promise you a good surprise ;) Anyway, guys, you keep making me happy with your incredible support :) I mean, last chapter got 14 reviews in four days, so... You totally rock! I'm glad you all seemed to like the Haleb phone call, the way Caleb stood up for Hanna with Ali and the Caleb/Ashley moment :) Love their relationship :) However, I always read you all and I appreciate the things you write me in the reviews, especially when you tell me what you liked of the chapter and what you think it's gonna happen next. So, yeah, I really want to know your thoughts about this plot twist, so if you leave a review again, it'll be reeeeeeeally appreciated :D Thank you so so so much for reading as always :) For the ones who want to know, for the next chapter of GoW there's still a little to wait, but I promise you will have a crazy chapter there too :P I hope you will have a nice week! Love you! xx -Atramea.**


	23. Chapter 23

After the darkness, the light.

White walls, blurry sight, aggressive pain to the right shoulder.

Caleb couldn't keep his eyes completely open, but he had realized he was in an hospital bed. He felt pain even while breathing. He tried to lift himself up, but he couldn't. It hurt too much. He felt an hand briefly touch his arm, and then he heard a voice.

_Her_ voice.

"Lie down..."

At that, Caleb managed to open his eyes, against every physics rule, so he looked over his bed. And, as he had already understood, sitting on a chair beside his bed there was her, Hanna. She was holding his hand and looking at him.

"Hanna... What... What are you doing here?" was everything Caleb managed to say, with husky voice.

"You scared the crap out of me. I've always told you to be careful when you drive. Plus, you're so thoughtless... It was night, you didn't know the place, with a freaking motorbike... You're an idiot!"

Caleb bit his bottom lip.

"Yeah, I'm a dickhead. But... You came over here going through all of those miles just to see how I was?" he asked then.

Hanna sighed and a small smile escaped from her lips, as she slightly rolled her eyes trying to hide it. She didn't want to give him a real answer, so Caleb continued.

"Alright, whatever. You know, I'd like to tell you that I'm sorry you took this long trip just to come here and see if I was okay, but... But I'd lie. I'm not sorry. If I had known you'd come, I would have had an accident so long ago."

Hanna shook her head before saying something.

"As soon as they called me, I dropped Liam off to Ezra and Aria's and I took the first flight available. They told me to say hi for them... And my mom too. You scared all of us. Where the fuck that bike comes from, though?"

"I had just rented it."

"Well, it doesn't exist anymore. Now it's basically just a mass of shrivled up foils. I really don't know how you managed to get out of the accident only dislocating your collarbone and breaking one of your ribs... Thank God you were wearing the helmet, but... You risked life and limb, Caleb. Seriously. Don't you dare make me worry that much, ever again."

"I'm so sorry..." he replied shyly, squeezing her hand, which had never let go of his one.

"How do you feel now?"

"My shoulder hurts, but... I'm okay, all in all. How are you?"

Hanna sighed again.

"Well, it's not the best time of my life, but I'm fine too." she said then.

Caleb sighed as well before replying.

"Listen, Hanna... Let's just stop with this thing. At least let's call each other once a day..."

"Caleb, the fact that I'm here right now doesn't change anything."

"Well... You're here because you love me and you got worried for me, right?"

"Yeah, so what? Doesn't sound like we're finding out something new, to me." she snapped.

He stayed silent for a few seconds before replying.

"Okay, sorry. Anyway, I have to tell you something... There won't be any second episode of the movie, any new contract... This work's gonna be over in a few days."

Hanna was surpirsed by that.

"Why this change of plans?" she asked.

"No change of plans, I was just told a lie. A lie which made us argue..." he replied, avoiding to mention Alison not to upset Hanna, at least for the moment.

"Will you be able to finish working thrashed like this?" she asked again, pretending not to hear the last part of what he had said.

"I don't know... I just want to finish, though. I can't do this anymore..."

Hanna didn't say anything, but their hands were still holding each other.

"How's the little man doing?" he asked then.

"He misses you, a lot. But don't worry, he's fine. I just didn't think it was the case to bring him here and make him see you this way."

"Sure, you did the right thing. I miss him so much too. Just like I miss you..."

"Drop it, Caleb. We already discussed that."

"Alright. But don't you dare let go of my hand." he said then, smiling slightly and gently rubbing his thumb on the back of her hand.

Hanna smiled back slightly, obeying but not saying anything.

"So... You kept your promise, eventually." Caleb began again.

"What promise?"

"To come visit me here in Spain. Yeah, I wasn't imaging it to be like this, but... You're here. That's all that matters."

Hanna chuckled, shaking her head.

"Care to explain what you were thinking while driving that damn bike?" she asked then.

Caleb raised his eyebrows and sighed, feeling a slight pain into his chest as he breathed in.

"A lot of things. I was thinking about how much mean people can be, how much stupid I can be... And how much I wanted to go home." he admitted.

"Caleb, you can't just do something stupid everytime we fight, you get it, right?" she told him, serious.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry."

Hanna sighed and nodded briefly, then Caleb spoke again.

"Did someone come with you over here?"

"Yeah... Jess is here, she insisted to come with me. She's in the hallway right now."

"Jess?" he smiled.

He knew by now that Hanna and his sister had developed a good relationship, but it still impressed him when he heard they did something together or to support each other.

"Yes. Do you want to see her?" Hanna continued.

"Of course I do, but... Maybe later. I'd like to stay with you a little longer...if you want to, of course." he replied shyly, his thumb still running over the back of her hand.

Hanna just nodded and made another small smile, looking down at their joined hands. They stayed like that, still and silent for a few minutes, their hands never breaking contact. Then, Caleb turned his head on the pillow and spotted a glass of water on the bedside table. He tried to reach it with his free hand, but an unbelievable pain blocked him. He still had to realize that that arm of his was bandaged. He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut in pain, as Hanna jumped off her seat.

"Hey, hey, wait... Don't make any efforts." she told him, only then letting go of his hand just to get to the other side of the bed to take the glass and bring it to Caleb's lips.

He nodded briefly as she gave him to drink, cupping his chin with her other hand in order to keep his head steady. Caleb took a few sips before Hanna pulled the glass away.

"Some more?" she asked.

He just shook his head, so Hanna put the glass back on the bedside table. But when she turned back to Caleb, she noticed he had started crying. He had turned his head away from her, trying to hide it, but she had heard his smothered sobs and knew him too well not to notice it. She sighed and came closer to him, instinctively cupping his face into her hands and gently turning him to her.

"Now why are you crying?" she asked softly.

He took a deep breath to calm down before answering her.

"Because everything's a shit, Hanna. This movie just brought a big mess in my life, a huge fucking mess. I had all I had ever wanted before accepting this job, literally everything. An healthy son, you, a family, a honest job... I had managed to conciliate the work hours with my family, it was...perfect. My life was beautiful. Then I accepted this job offer, yeah, just to earn some more for the three of us, because I wanted to buy us a new house and save some money for our wedding and our children's future, but maybe... Maybe I should have just waited a little longer, so I could have earned that money just with my job with my dad, but... But I didn't. I just came over here, accepting not to see you and Liam for a long time, letting some things happen and mess with our relationship, I... I just ruined everything, within a month. I should have never left. Look at me now... I'm in an hospital bed, I can't drink a freaking glass of water on my own, and... I... I can't even hug the person I love... How could I come to this point?"

She sighed and wiped his tears away before smiling gently at him and bending down to hug him. Caleb calmed down into her arms, but felt an endless anger toward himself because he couldn't return the hug the way he wanted to. But then he caught sight of Hanna's engagement ring still at her finger, exactly where he had put it over a month earlier. Somehow, that sight made him feel better. When she pulled away he grabbed her hand again and squeezed it.

"Thank you." he murmured.

"For what?" she asked him.

"Everything. For being here, always, even if I'm the king of the idiots... For always knowing what to say or do to make me feel better, I—"

"Shhh... Just get some rest now." she cut him off in a whisper, giving his hand another squeeze.

He nodded slightly before brushing two of his fingers over her ring, then he just closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep, exhausted from the tiredness and the painkillers, still holding her hand.

* * *

When Caleb opened his eyes, Hanna was no longer there. But there was Jess, sitting at the same seat where Hanna had been. As soon as she saw he had opened his eyes, she smiled at him.

"Hey, brother... What the hell were you thinking about?" she asked.

Caleb shrugged at her.

"Too many things, I guess." he replied, his voice become husky again.

"How are you feeling?"

"Maybe a little bit better than earlier... How are you?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me."

"What about mom? And dad?"

"Caleb, they're okay. Yeah, mom told me to tell you that you're an idiot, but... They both hope you'll feel better, obviously."

Caleb nodded.

"Where's Hanna?" he asked then, hoping it hadn't been just a dream.

Jess sighed and scratched the back of her neck.

"She's on her way back to LA. She took off an hour ago. It's just that she doesn't want Liam to be with neither his mom nor his dad for too long, you know. She would have stayed longer, otherwise." she replied then.

He nodded, understanding Hanna's reasons.

"Shit, I scared the crap out of her, didn't I?" he asked again then.

Jess chuckled before answering him.

"Well... The first thing she said was that you were an idiot. But, seriously... She was scared as hell. She told me you two had this huge fight before you left, that you took sort of a break, but... I saw her. I saw the look into her eyes when she was told you had had an accident. She wasn't just worrying for the dad of her child... She was worrying for the man she loved, she _loves_. I know her by now, and I know you. Look... She came here in your room, sat down here and took your hand. She waited almost three hours like that, sitting on this uncomfortable chair, never letting go of your hand and just waiting for you to wake up. Three freaking hours. She never left the room, not even to go to the bathroom. And when you fell asleep again, she stayed with you until I showed up telling her Liam was on the phone asking for her. Only then she got out of here. Liam wanted her to come back, that's the only reason why she left. Obviously, not before telling me to call if I have any news about your situation. She may act tough around you, but she's still madly in love with you, as always. So... You need to relax, Caleb, because the two of you are gonna sort this shit out, got it?"

Caleb sighed before replying.

"I know she loves me, but... I really messed things up this time. I'd understand if she—"

"She won't." Jess cut him off.

He sighed again before nodding.

"Just make sure she'll call you as soon as she lands, alright?" he added.

Jess smiled at her brother's concern toward Hanna before nodding back.

"So... Hanna told me I have a broken rib and a dislocated collarbone... What does that mean, exactly?" he asked then.

"What is it, bro? Did you miss that Anatomy class?" she joked.

Caleb rolled his eyes, then his sister continued.

"While Hanna was in here earlier, I spoke to a doctor. He told me you were lucky. Basically, you were passing a truck, and you were going a little fast, then a car came out of the other side of the street. You tried to avoid it, so you abruptly swerved, and... You knocked yourself into the guardrail. Other than your broken rib and your dislocated collarbone, you only have a few bruises and scratches. Seems like God was with you, bro. Anyway, it was the man who was driving that car to take you here. The doctor also said that luckily you don't need any surgery, because your rib is not broken in many small fragments. The fracture is not compound, that's it. So, it means that, thank God, there's no risk that a bone fragment perforates your lung. But you do need some rest. We're talking about at least a week, but it will depend by the response of your body, anyway the doctor is trusting because you're young... Then, you can restart doing your daily things, but you will have to keep your bandages for a month or so after that."

"A week of rest? No, I can't. I need to go back to work, like, tomorrow. I need to finish."

"You obviously can't, Caleb. Call your boss and explain him your situation. He'll understand."

"God, I'm such an idiot..." he muttered then.

"Oh, you finally got it." Jess replied sarcastically.

"I just want all of this to be over. I wanna go home, Jess."

She looked at him and smiled.

"You will, Caleb." she told him.

He sighed deeply, moving his gaze to the window of his room.

"Yeah... And when I'm back I'll sort everything out." he mumbled then.

"Hanna and Liam are waiting for you, don't worry."

Caleb turned to Jess and gave her a grateful smile.

"Thank you for being here and... For not letting Hanna come alone." he whispered then.

"Anytime, brother. Anytime."

* * *

**A/N: Yeah! I managed to update this too :) I couldn't leave you guys hanging like that! So, Caleb is fine, yep :) I hope you enjoyed Hanna's visit... She kind of showed herself tough with him, but her smiles and the fact she has held his hand for the whole time revealed the way she was really feeling around him, didn't they? I hope that moment was as cute as I wanted it to be :) Plus... Are you happy to see Jess again? She finally seems nice to Hanna, haha :P —she was a main character of the prequel of this story, "The Mall", if any of you guys doesn't know what I'm talking about ;)— Also, Caleb will tell Hanna the whole story about CeCe, Ali, the picture and everything, he just didn't feel like doing it in such a moment :) Anyway... Thank you all for the reviews! You guys are just wonderful :D I hope you keep letting me know what you think ;) But remember that the drama is not over yet, and get also ready for something that you're not expecting at all :O It's kind of a bad thing, and it hurts me a little when I think about it, but I decided it would happen since so long ago, and I never change my mind once I plan a story, so... I just need things go that way because it's part of the plot of the story, that's it. I apologize in advance if I'm gonna hurt your feelings xD However, it's not about Hanna and Caleb's relationship, be aware of that and don't worry too much :) So, I hope you liked this chapter and I hope you let me know if you did in a review :) Also, thank you again for reading, for all the reviews/follow/favorites so far and for all of your amazing support. I hope my chapters work as a thanks to all of you ;) Have a nice week and check the last chapter of GoW if you haven't already! :) Love you! xx -Atramea.**


	24. Chapter 24

Caleb had to deal with a week of total rest. He had talked to a doctor who had told him the same things Jess had hours earlier, just more specifically. She had stayed with him for a couple of days before going back to LA as well. Caleb had told her he was fine, plus she had to get back to work.

He had also spoken by phone with Albaruenta, who had told him to recover before anything. He had said that Caleb could come back when he was okay, that then they would see together where his help was necessary for the scenes already shot while he hadn't been there, and then it was fine. He didn't need to do any extra, he could go home when the fifty days were over, just like anyone else.

His rehabilitation went well. He would have to keep his arm bandage and his small corset for a little while, but other than that, it was fine. He thought over and over again about Hanna and the moment they had shared in his hospital room. The fact she had come from the other side of the world to see if he was actually okay, really made his heart melt. And then her hug. Her smell, the warmth of her body...just the love he could feel from all of those things. And obviously that ring still at her hand, which truly gave him hope for their future. He had needed that.

However, two days before his discharge, he received a visit.

CeCe.

"May I come in?" she asked, standing on the doorway.

Caleb was standing near the window of his hospital room, now allowed to get up and move, and as soon as he saw her he sighed deeply, but then he gave her a nod to allow her in.

"Anything else I should know about?" he asked firmly.

"No, you already know everything. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry about your accident. Thank God it wasn't too bad, and I'm happy to see you can get up from your bed now, but you risked, and... And I know that maybe it happened because of what I told you that night, ot at least partly. I wanted to come here sooner, but I was ashamed, I'm sorry. Forgive me for everything, if you can..."

He pursed his lips and took a deep breath before replying.

"CeCe, listen... I really don't want to fight, I'm exhausted. All I need is a little of calmness and some stability. It went the way it went, I'm sorry because you and I could have become good friends, but... But it didn't go like that. Anyway, I don't want to overthink right now. These last few days of work, I'm going to keep a civilized relationship both with you and Alison, then we'll all be done with this movie and we won't see each other again. I'll come back to my life, and the two of you will come back to yours. End of the story, okay?"

"Okay. I just wanted to let you know that I'm sincerely sorry for what happened to you, and... And also for what I did to you. You didn't deserve any of that."

"Yeah." Caleb sighed.

"Look... Actually, there's something else you should know..." she said after a few seconds of silence.

Caleb tried to stay calm.

"Good. What other shit did you two do?" he asked.

"No, don't worry. It's not about that. Ali is not involved in what I'm about to tell you. You know... When I heard you had an accident, I came here the sooner I could, even if I never got in your room. And... And I met Hanna outside, in the hallway."

Caleb furrowed his eyebrows, then CeCe continued.

"I knew it was her. I had seen her in your picture and in some Alison had showed me. She was waiting to be allowed to get in your room. Well... We talked. I mean, I talked to her. I told her you've always been a gentleman, inside and outside the set... And that the night you got drunk, I was there with you but nothing happened. Actually, I even told her that when I undressed you because your clothes were soaked of alcohol, you tried to stop me saying you were happily engaged. I... I felt like I had to tell her. I owed you that, and I owed her too. It's right for Hanna to know that you never disrespected her since you came here."

"You also told her everything was planned to frame me and hurt her since Alison's behind all of this?"

"No... But I didn't just because I didn't think it was right to tell her everything like that without knowing if you thought it was the case... But if you want, I'm gonna tell her whenever and the way you want..."

"No, CeCe. You don't have to tell her anything. I'm tired of always searching for excuses and witnesses to get out of my own messes. Hanna will believe me without any of that. I want her to believe me because I'm the one talking to her, with all the honesty of the world. Because we love each other. You shouldn't have told her about the night I got drunk either, anyway I appreciate it. It means that you really feel bad about what you did, so you wanted to do something for me. Seriously, it's fine. I'm the one who needs to sort his things out now... And I will."

CeCe nodded and gave him a small smile before leaving the room, not saying anything else.

* * *

In the last couple of days Caleb had to stay in hospital, he only received calls, from his mom or Ezra. No more visits or anything, and it was better like that. He could set his mind free from any thoughts and came back to work with more tranquility. Maybe it was because he had seen Hanna again —wearing her engagement ring—, maybe it was because he had clarified things at least with CeCe, maybe it was because he knew he was only three days away from coming back to LA to the people he loved, but he sure wasn't feeling bad than the previous days.

So, he came back to work. With Alison, he actually just kept a strictly civilized and professional relationship, while with CeCe he felt a little more comfortable.

One night, while he was in his hotel room, Ezra called him.

"Hey, man!" Caleb answered.

"Caleb, hey, I need to talk to you. I... I need to tell you something."

"Whoa, you sound pretty excited. What's going on?"

"Well... I did it again."

"What? What does that mean?" Caleb asked, confused.

"I'm sorry to tell you by phone. You know, I wanted to come visit you, but I couldn't leave Aria alone right because... Well... You still don't get it?"

Caleb chuckled before replying.

"Sorry, man, but... This period I'm not very acute... C'mon, split it out!"

"Aria is pregnant. Again."

"Wow, finally! Congratulations!" Caleb replied, sincerely happy for him and Aria.

"I'm so happy, man. We had been trying for so long..."

"I know... And I'm happy too, seriously."

"Look, as soon as you come back we need to celebrate all together."

"Sure. If everything's fine with Hanna, I'll be so there."

"Caleb—"

Caleb cut him off.

"No, don't worry. She doesn't want to talk about us until I'm back, so... So don't tell me anything I'm not supposed to know. Just one thing... Did she stop smoking?"

Ezra chuckled before answering.

"Don't worry, I think the cigarette she smoked when the two of you fought before you left was the only one. She doesn't smoke, Caleb. It was just a moment of irritability, I guess."

"Good... That's good. You know, when she got pregnant she stopped smoking, so I wouldn't have stood if she had restarted because of me."

"I know, man. Anyway, she's very happy about Aria's pregnancy too. You should see them, they look like they're gonna just disappear soon to clean out all the baby clothing shops!"

"Yeah, I bet..." Caleb sighed.

"Hey... Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, just... Hanna and I wanted to have another baby too before... You know..."

"Oh, I'm sure you guys will. Just get your ass back here as soon as you can."

Caleb laughed slightly.

"Well, at least my ass didn't get hurt from the accident." he added then, chuckling.

"'Thank God', you should say. Anyway, man, I'm sorry but I gotta go. Talk to you soon."

"Sure. Bye, Ezra. Thanks for calling, give your wife a kiss."

Then, Caleb hung up. He was happy about Aria's second pregnancy. He felt like everyone's lives were going on without him, though. He felt the huge need to come back. His life and Hanna's life had to go on as well. He had to sort everything out and then he had to move in with his family to the new house, marry Hanna and, between all of these things, he also had to give her another kid. He _wanted_ all of these things. He wanted his life to be like that.

* * *

The last two days went slowly.

Caleb didn't even exchange a word with Alison, while things with CeCe were less harsh. Right CeCe assured him Alison would leave him and Hanna alone, and he felt like she was being honest. It looked like she had truly regretted what she had done with Ali and didn't have any more segret agenda.

That's how Caleb finally finished his work with 'Horizons', the movie which had basically messed his whole life up.

But still, Caleb knew that the money earned with that job, was soon gonna be invested for his family's new house. Because yes, he was going to win Hanna back whatever it would take.

While he was in his hotel room, packing the last things before leaving the next morning, his mobile rang. It was Ezra, again. Caleb had talked to him just a few hours earlier, he wasn't expecting another call from him that soon.

"Hello?" he picked up, taking a sit on the edge of the bed.

"Caleb..."

"Hey, man, what is it? You can't resist not to hear my voice for a few hours?" Caleb chuckled.

"Caleb, something bad happened."

Caleb felt Ezra's voice tense and actually serious, so he immediately got worried.

"Ezra... What's going on?" he asked then, now serious too.

"I... I don't know how to tell you this, I... I hate saying these things by phone..."

"Did something happen to Hanna? Huh? What the hell happened?"

"No, it's not about Hanna..."

"Ezra, talk! Just talk, shit! Aria? Your unborn baby? Emma? L-Liam? Just tell me!" Caleb was now freaking out, and his voice eventually cracked a bit just at the thought of something bad happening to his own son.

"Ashley." Ezra replied simply, in a barely audible whisper.

Caleb's blood froze in his veins, and his heart skipped a beat as he tried not to think about the only thing which had come up to his mind.

"Ashley... What?" he asked then, hoping it wasn't like that.

"Ashley...is _gone_. I'm sorry to tell you this way. I'm so sorry, Caleb."

Caleb stayed still and silent for a moment before a single warm tear fell from the corner of his eye. He squeezed his eyes shut and put the phone between his ear and shoulder to run his hand through his hair. Ashley meant too much to him. She was the love of his life's mom, his son's grandma. And to him, she was like a second mom. He _adored_ her. She couldn't be..._dead_. Only the word gave him creeps.

"It can't be..." he just murmured then.

"She had an heart attack. No one could do anything to save her. It was just a moment, Caleb. Just a moment, and then she was gone."

Caleb stayed silent for a minute, rubbing his hand all over his face and breathing in and out deeply. Maybe that's why he had felt so much need to talk to Ashley before leaving again for Spain. Because his subconscious knew that would be the last time he would see her.

"The funeral is tomorrow morning at eleven 'o clock. I hope you can make it on time." Ezra added briefly, noticing the long silence from the other line.

"I'll be there, of course. Thanks for calling, Ezra. Bye." Caleb replied before hanging up the phone.

Then, he threw his mobile to the other side of the mattress and covered his face.

He thought about Hanna. He thought about how bad she was feeling right then. He though about how much he wanted to be there with her to hold her into his arms and comfort her.

But he wasn't. He couldn't.

He had just finished his work in Spain, he could finally come back to his life and fight for his girl...but now he had to say goodbye to one of the few people he truly loved, who happened to be the most important person of Hanna's life. _Why the hell did that have to happen?_

With a huge bitterness into his heart, he finished packing before going to sleep. Despite everything, he was ready to come back home.

* * *

The next morning, Caleb went to meet Manuel Albaruenta before taking off. The man had told him to meet him in the hall of the hotel before leaving. So Caleb went there, and found him with Alison sitting on one of the couches, and the pair looked pretty intimate. It was then that he remembered that CeCe had told him they had an affair. Then, he approached and greeted them, forcing a smile. Albaruenta shook his left hand, since the right was attached, and smiled back.

"Hi, Caleb. I know you're going home, so I'm not gonna steal too much of your time. I just wanted to tell you that you're gonna get your money within a week. All of it, of course. However, if there's gonna be any trouble, just give me a call. It was a pleasure to have you with us in this project." the man told him.

"It was an honor to me to work for your company. Thanks for the opportunity, sir." Caleb replied politely.

"Anytime. How's your shoulder?"

"It's on the mend."

"Great. Hope you'll get well soon. But... Other than that, if you don't mind me ask...is everything okay?" Albaruenta asked then, noticing the hurt look into Caleb's eyes.

"Don't worry, sir. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Caleb. Say hi to your father for me."

"I will."

Caleb was about to go away when he saw Alison get up with the corner of his eye, so he waited.

"Caleb, I—" she started, but he cut her off.

"Alison, let it go. I'd better go home now. Bye."

Caleb and Alison didn't need to tell each other anything else, and he didn't have any strength to fight or anything. He just wanted to go home. That's how he left the hotel for good, carrying his suitcase behind his back with his healthy arm, taking a cab to get to the airport.

He took his plane with his mind totally cloudy, full of thoughts. He thought about all of his memories with Ashley, all of her advice, the great person she was. Then, he thought that she was no longer there. He hadn't had time to thank her enough for all she had done it for him.

Once landed in LA, around ten in the morning, he walked to the exit of the airport, but then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Ezra. Caleb hugged him the way he could with just one arm.

"Welcome back, man." Ezra murmured when they pulled away.

"Thanks, man. I didn't think you would come."

Ezra just shrugged before speaking again.

"Let's take your stuff to my place for now. Then we can go to the church together, alright?"

"Alright." Caleb echoed, before leaving the airport with Ezra.

Once the pair got at Ezra's, Caleb met Aria too, and as soon as he saw her he hugged her tightly.

"Hey... I know this is not the return you were looking forward to..." she mumbled.

"Don't worry... Anyway, congratulations." he forced a small smile as he pulled away.

"Thank you, Caleb." she forced a small smile back too.

"Come on, place your luggages in the guestroom." Ezra continued.

Caleb walked to the room with him and set his stuff down, then sighed deeply before glancing up at Ezra.

"I need to see her, man. I'm going crazy. I need to be there for her, I'm her man. She needs me now." he muttered, sitting on the bed and roaming his hand through his hair.

"I know, I know... And you soon will. She came to you in a heartbeat when you had that accident, when you needed her, and now you're going to be there for her as well. Of course she needs you too, Caleb. And not just because of this tough moment. So, just... Take a moment to yourself now. Get changed, do anything you need to do, and then we'll all go to the church. And you'll finally be with your girl. Alright?" Ezra replied, placing his hand on Caleb's shoulder.

Caleb nodded briefly.

"You need help to change the shirt or something?" Ezra asked, nodding toward Caleb's shoulder.

"No, don't worry. I'm going to take a little more than I usually did, but... I got used to this shit by now." Caleb replied, referring to the bandage which kept his right arm attached to his chest.

"Okay, and... You want something to eat?"

"No, man, I'm fine. Thanks anyway."

"Alright. Well, I'm going to drop Emma off to Aria's brother's. She'll be downstairs if you need anything, though. Act like this is your own house, man."

"Thank you."

Ezra was about to leave the room when Caleb suddenly stopped him.

"Oh, Ezra, about my luggages, I... I don't know if Hanna—"

"No worries, man. Just leave everything here, then we'll see. No problem." Ezra cut him off, smiling.

"Thanks, man."

"Stop thanking me. See you later."

And then, Ezra finally left the room.

* * *

**A/N: Before I say anything PLEASE DON'T HATE ME xD I love Ashley Marin's character, totally, absolutely, completely, but I warned you this story would have soooooo much drama, so... This is just part of the story :( Anyway, Caleb is finally home and done with the movie, so if Hanna needs him, he'll be there. They're gonna see each other again at Ashley's funeral, next chapter. Okay, that being said, I'm really really sorry for my late but, believe me, I'm like drowning in my Spanish books because I have an exam on Friday which is making me go crazy :'( So before you ask, I think the next chapter of GoW should be up tomorrow, it's already written but I need to edit it and stuff. Then, I absolutely loved reading your guesses about the bad thing happening in this chapter :) So, at least Liam is fine and Hanna's plane didn't crash :D I'm so glad you appreciated last chapter too, of course :) For the guest who asked for some Hanna/Ali, well, you're gonna have "something" in a few chapters ;) However, hoping you're not hating me too much after this chapter :P, I'd love to read your thoughts about it... A lot of things happened other than Ashley's death, like CeCe coming to visit Caleb at the hospital, Caleb ignoring Alison before leaving, Aria's pregnancy... So I hope you guys let me know what you think :) And remember, the drama is not over yet ;) Thank you for reading and reviewing, you're amazing! Love you! xx -Atramea.**


	25. Chapter 25

Caleb had only one suit, a black one, into his suitcase. He put it on, along with the purple buttoned shirt Hanna had given him and a white tie. Then, he fixed his hair and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was ready.

Walking back to the guestroom, he saw Liam's teddybear into his half-open suitcase and smiled slightly. At least, in a sad day like that, he would see his son again. Ezra came back right then, so the pair and Aria finally went together to the church for the funeral.

* * *

There were so many people, even just outside of the building. And when they got inside, they noticed the people were actually a lot. It was a clear sign of the good person Ashley was. At the end of the aisle, there was her coffin, and next to it there was a large picture of hers, where was smiling and looked happy.

Caleb took a few steps forward from where he was, and then instinctively looked at his left. It was then that he took sight of Tom, Hanna's dad, who was holding Hanna into his arms. At that, Ezra gave him a light pat on his shoulder and Aria a nod, before the couple went to take a seat forward.

Caleb stayed there, looking at Hanna while biting his lip. She looked destroyed, and that destroyed him as well. Tom soon noticed him, but Hanna didn't. But then, Tom whispered something into his daughter's ear, so she turned around and finally saw Caleb. Her eyes were red and puffy, her make-up was ruined by her tears, but all Caleb could think at the moment was that she was as beautiful as always. However, he didn't move of an inch, just looking at her, not knowing what exactly to do. Of course he wanted to hug her and comfort her, he wanted to so badly, but he didn't know if she would be okay with that. He didn't want to bother her, especially in a moment like that. But then, she escaped from her dad's grasp and quickly walked to Caleb. And when she was in front of him, she hugged him tightly, so tightly, crying and sobbing against his chest. Caleb couldn't do anything but hug her back, even though he could do it just with one arm. He stroked her hair and kissed repeatedly the top of her head, not saying anything, before looking over to Tom and giving him a nod.

"S-She didn't have to go away... I-I still needed her!" she suddenly sobbed against his shirt.

"I know, I know... Breathe..." he whispered soothingly through her hair.

He kept holding her as she kept crying. He managed not to breakdown as well, just trying to stop her tears, even if it was pretty hard. They were there, in a corner of the church, holding each other. To a situation like that, the problems of their relationship were obviously second. There would be time to discuss those things, right then all that mattered was to support each other.

They took a seat in one of the pews, next to Tom, a few distant to where Ezra and Aria were sitting. Caleb also spotted his mom and Jess sitting on another pew, and he just gave them a bitter smile to say hello. Hanna was still crying, holding her dad's hand tightly. Caleb offered her his one too, and she held it as well. Then she whispered something about Liam, that she hadn't taken him there with her because she didn't think it was the case, that's why he was at Aria's brother's too, with him and Emma. He just nodded and placed his forehead against hers.

"Stop crying now... Your mom will always be with you..." he whispered softly.

Hanna took in a deep breath, pulling away to rest her head on Caleb's healthy shoulder, still holding both his and her dad's hand in hers.

* * *

The function was very solemn and moving. Caleb kept Hanna's hand in his for the whole time, and when they exited the church to walk the coffin to the cemetery, he didn't leave her side either. She was broken, she didn't stop crying and she couldn't say anything. Caleb moved his arm behind her back to sustain her body, and she did the same, leaning into his embrace through all the walk. When they finally arrived to the cemetery, several people came up to Hanna to give her their condolences, Claudia and Jess too, who also gave Caleb a hug, since that was the first time they were seeing him since he had come back, even though Jess had come to him when he was in hospital. At the end, only Hanna, Caleb and her dad were in front of her grave.

"Is there anything I can do for you, mr Marin?" Caleb asked.

"No, it's okay, Caleb. Thank you. Han, I should probably go now. Isabel is waiting for me. Will you mind if I do?" Tom replied, eventually moving his gaze to her daughter.

Hanna shook her head, then Tom went to give her one last hug, holding her tight.

"Call me for anything, okay? Anything." he whispered as he hugged her.

She nodded again as her dad pulled away. Then, Tom turned to Caleb and gave him a light squeeze on his healthy shoulder.

"Hope you'll get better soon, son." the man told him then.

"Thank you, mr Marin."

Then, Tom looked from him to Hanna, nodding before turning around and walking to the car where his family was waiting for him. Caleb gently rubbed Hanna's shoulder as she stared at her mom's picture. She was still crying, but she looked a little better then earlier.

"Thanks for being here." she whispered suddenly.

"Don't even say that. It was the least I could do, Han. I'm just sorry I wasn't here when...it happened." he murmured in reply.

"No one would have ever imagined what happened." she whispered, shrugging slightly.

"Yeah, but I'm still sorry. I also would have liked to spend more time with your mom. She was a wonderful person. For what it means, at least she didn't suffer, anyway... I truly hope she's in a better place now."

She didn't reply, still looking at the picture. Caleb reached out and wiped a few tears off her cheeks.

"Hey... You look so tired. Did you even sleep last night?" he whispered then.

She shook her head, still not moving her gaze.

"Well, I think you need some rest now. Let me walk you home, okay?" he continued.

"I... I need to pick Liam up from Mike's."

"Let him stay there for a little longer. I'm sure Mike won't mind. You need some rest, Hanna. The little man's gonna be fine, and if you want I'm gonna pick him up later and bring him home to you." he reasoned.

She stayed silent for a few seconds before answering.

"Or we can go to pick him up now and then we can go home all together."

Caleb felt a little surprised.

"Do you want me to come home with you?" he asked softly.

"It's your house, Caleb. And Liam can't wait to play with you again. I know we need to talk, but... We'll think about that later, I can't do it right now. Okay?"

"Of course." he whispered.

He then shyly connected their hands, gently interwining his fingers in between hers.

"Let's go home." he said softly.

* * *

The walk to Mike's house was totally silent, but their hands, just like at the hospital in Spain, never let go of each other. As soon as they reached Mike's front door, Caleb immediately rang the doorbell, eager to be reunited with his son. Mike greeted the pair with a sad smile, then called Liam, who clumsily jogged to the door. Only then, Caleb let go of Hanna's hand to bend down and engulf his kid in a tight one-arm hug.

"Thanks for keeping him, Mike." Hanna said to Mike as Liam and Caleb hugged and kissed each other.

"No problem, Han. He was an angel." the boy replied.

Caleb stood back up and offered his left hand to Mike.

"Thank you, Mike." he told him.

Mike shook his hand before replying.

"It's okay, man. How's the shoulder?"

"In a couple of weeks I should be able to take the bandage off, finally."

The young boy nodded at him and then got on his knees to jokingly mess Liam's hair.

"See you next time, kiddo." he told the kid then.

Liam smiled and waved at him before searching for both of his parents' hands, so the family of three started walking toward their house.

* * *

Once they got home, after the whole walk hearing Liam asking about what had happened to his daddy's arm and why he and his mommy were so elegant, Caleb walked Liam to his room and told him to wait for him there. Then, he came back downstairs to check on Hanna and found her sitting on the couch with her head between her hands. He sighed and sat next to her.

"Hey..." he whispered, squeezing her shoulder lightly.

She just sniffed, still hiding her face from him. He knew it was going to be really hard for her to get through her mom's sudden death.

"Han... Try to breathe, okay? Breathe..." he continued, rubbing her shoulder.

She seemed to listen to him, because her breathing slowed down and her sobs were almost completely gone.

"Alright, just like that... Now why don't you go lie down and try to get some rest? Liam and I are not going to be too loud while playing, I promise." he whispered again.

She breathed out deeply before finally lifting her head, quickly wiping her tears away. Then, she turned to him and nodded briefly.

"Do you...need something?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine. What about you? Will you be able to play with him with just one arm?"

He smiled a little before nodding.

"Don't worry, I got this." he added.

Hanna nodded one last time before getting up from the couch, heading to the bedroom. Caleb, then, took his time to take his coat and tie off, fumbling with his bandage. He was almost panting by the time he was done, then he walked back to Liam's room, greeting him with a wide smile. He and Hanna were going to explain what had happened to his grandma later.

* * *

Half an hour later, Liam was sound asleep. Caleb smiled down at the sight of his son peacefully sleeping, rubbing his cheek and then bending down to press a kiss on his forehead. He walked out of the room and closed the door lightly, trying not to be loud.

He glanced at the clock of the hallway, noticing it was practically lunch time. He wasn't hungry, he had eaten something on the plane and he was fine because of the change of time zone, but he was wondering if Hanna would like something to eat. So, he silently made his way to his and Hanna's bedroom. The door was half-open and he immediately caught sight of Hanna, with her back at the door, lying down on the bed in a fetal position. She had changed into his black sweater and a pair of sweats. He stopped on the doorframe, wondering if she was asleep or not, but then he heard a light sob and noticed her shoulders were trembling. She was clearly crying, again. And Caleb felt his heart break a little.

He sighed and got in, slowly walking to the bed, then he sat down on the mattress and placed his hand on her arm, without saying anything. At that, Hanna suddenly turned around and threw herself to him, burying her face into his shirt, crying against his chest. Caleb hugged her the way he could, holding her to him and occasionally stroking her hair. He let her cry for a good five minutes before breaking their silence.

"Do you want something to eat?" he whispered softly.

She just shook her head against his shirt. He promised himself he would make her eat later, though, he just didn't want to force her or anything right then.

"Did you sleep at least a little?" he asked then, still speaking very softly.

She shook her head again, and he sighed. He hated seeing her like that. It made him feel the most useless person in the whole world.

"Can you...stay here?" she mumbled then.

He kissed her temple at that.

"Of course." he whispered in reply, feeling a little less useless at that.

He quickly kicked his shoes off to be able to lie down on the bed next to her, and when he did, he circled her shoulders with his arm. She placed her head into the crook of his neck, still crying, and gripped his shirt into her fist as she let her tears go. Caleb ran his hand up and down her arm, kissing the top of her head.

It wasn't long before Hanna fell asleep between tears, and Caleb followed her, still tired from his flight, the one into the other's embrace.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry for taking so long to update, but these last days have been hectic. And I knooow, this is such a sad chapter :'( Yes, HalebForever, you were the only one to guess that Ashley would die xD Oh, anyway, thank you guys for all your good luck wishes for my exam... I passed it! *yeeeeeah* :D However, back to the story, next chapter Hanna and Caleb are gonna manage to discuss about them, I promise you will like it :) Again, I'm so sorry for what happened to Ashley in this story, but I thought it would be pretty unexpected and could give the story a twist... I want to make clear that I love her character too ;) Anyway, thoughts about this chapter? I hope it wasn't too heartbreaking to see Hanna like that, but luckily Caleb's there for her... Let me know as usual, love reading from you :) I will update GoW too as soon as I can, I still have to fix a few things ;) So, that's all for now. Remember, next chapter is gonna be a great chapter... At least I hope :D Thanks for reading, reviewing and everything! We're over 300 reviews, that's totally awesome! :D ...Have a nice day everyone, love you guys! xx -Atramea.**


	26. Chapter 26

Both Hanna and Caleb were woken up by Liam's whims. Caleb moaned slightly and stretched himself as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. Then, she distangled from his arms before sitting up and trying to get up, but he stopped her, gently placing his hand on her wrist.

"I'll take care of him. I missed enough daddy days." he whispered.

"But your arm—"

"Hanna, it's okay." he cut her off, smiling softly.

Then, he got up and walked to Liam's room, managing to pick him up from his bed and cuddle him to his chest.

"What's up, little man?" he whispered gently to the kid, rocking him.

Liam just groaned, still crying. It was clear he was still tired and in need of sleep. Caleb adjusted him against his chest, turning him around so that his son could wrap his little arms around his neck and press his little cheek against his shoulder.

"Shhh... It's okay, buddy. It's okay." Caleb whispered again, swinging slightly.

Liam slowly stopped crying, calming down into his daddy's embrace. But then, he mumbled something which surprised Caleb.

"Daddy, I don't want you to go away."

Caleb pulled away slightly and looked at his son, finding him with his eyes closed. He smiled softly and kissed the top of his head.

"Don't worry, little man. I'm never leaving you and mommy again, I promise. Never again, I promise." he whispered in reply, placing his cheek on the side of Liam's face.

* * *

A few minutes later, Liam had fallen back asleep, so Caleb gently put him down on his bed and kissed his forehead softly, moving a strand of his hair off his face. He watched him sleep for a minute before sighing and walking out of the room. He returned to the master bedroom but Hanna wasn't in there, so he went downstairs where he found her cooking something at the stoves.

"Hey... I was going to cook for you." he told her, approaching her.

Hanna shrugged in reply, still focused on her pan.

"Did you get some rest earlier, right?" he asked then.

She just nodded, before lifting her gaze to meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry, since you came back, I haven't even asked you how your shoulder is." she mumbled then.

He shook his head quickly and motioned a smile.

"Don't worry. Plus, I guess you heard it, it's on the mend. It doesn't hurt anymore, even if I still feel a little pain in my chest, sometimes. You know, the rib will take a little longer to be completely okay. Anyway, thanks for asking." he replied.

She nodded before looking back at the stoves. Caleb licked his lips.

"Do you need any help?" he asked then.

"No, it's okay."

"Alright." he muttered, taking a seat.

After a minute, Hanna brought to the table some meat for herself and for Caleb.

"I'm finally eating something good." he smiled.

She forced a small smile in reply.

"I know it's probably stupid to ask, but... Are you feeling any better?" he asked then.

At that, Hanna sighed deeply.

"Okay, don't worry. You don't have to answer." he commented comprehensively.

She placed down her fork and decided to reply.

"Well... My mom just died, and... Other than that, my life is pretty messed up at the moment, so... What can I say? Things are not great, that's it."

He bit hard on his lower lip.

"Could I do something to make these things a little bit better?" he asked then.

Hanna suddenly got up from the table, leaning by the kitchen counter and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Look, Caleb, if today I needed you by my side—" she began, but he interrupted her.

"I know, I know. And I'm not asking you to talk about us right now, if you don't feel like doing it. I get it. I totally get it, and we don't need to do that now. But I... I'd just like to do something for you. This is a tough moment, and... Look, whatever happens between us, I will always be here for you if something goes wrong. No matter what. That's all."

"We need to talk, Caleb."

"Of course we do, but again, we don't have to do it right now."

"I _want_ to do it right now. It's right for both of us. We can't just go on not knowing how things between us actually are. And... I definitely need a little order in my life at the moment."

Caleb stayed silent for a moment before nodding.

"Okay. I'm listening." he added quietly.

Hanna took a deep breath before speaking.

"When I was in Spain because of your accident, at the hospital, I talked with one of the actresses of the movie. I think her name was CeCe. Yeah, sure, the girl of the picture... Well... She told me you're a special guy and that you're so in love with me. And... That between the two of you, nothing happened."

"So?" Caleb asked, getting up from his chair as well and approaching her slowly.

"So I already knew those things. I know you didn't cheat on me, I know you're in love with me and most of all I know you're a special guy!"

At that point, Caleb was staring at her with a puzzled expression on his face.

"What do you need?" he asked then, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I need the truth. I want you to tell me the whole truth. I want to know why you don't have to stay in Spain any longer, why you rented a motorbike that night and got into an accident... I know it didn't happen just because of our fight. I know there's more. Besides, what does it mean that you were told a lie? I need to know everything, Caleb. Everything. Right now."

Caleb sighed and scratched the back of his neck before replying.

"Alright. But promise me that then we're gonna get over all of this."

"Well, we'll see that."

He took a deep breath and finally told her what he needed to.

"Okay, so... I didn't have to stay another month in Spain because, actually, no one has ever thought about any second episode of the movie. It was just a stupid story made up by Alison, who is also in a relationship with Albaruenta, the director. You know, she wanted to hurt you because of your high school past... She knew I was your fiancé and she took advantage of that, making up a lot of stories to make me fight with you, trying to push me away from you. She wanted to damage you. Insane, I know. However... The picture of CeCe and I on that website was part of her plan too. CeCe always accompliced her because they were friends. But then she grew fond on me, and... And she regretted what she had done, so the night of the accident she told me everything. I got mad and I sent her to hell, then I rented the motorbike and I started driving around a place I didn't know at all, by night. That's why I got into that accident, Hanna. I couldn't stand that you and I were fighting because other people never mind their own business and trample on others' happiness trying to get their own, dammit. That's such a disgusting thing. I... I felt like crap far from here and from you, and... And it was just because of a spoiled girl's stupid tantrum. Well, then I also cooperated with my huge talent in making messes, and... And you took your distance from me. That's how it went. I didn't even want to tell you, because I'm tired of always searching for explanations, and I don't want to continuously stress you... Besides, I made a lot of mistakes by myself in all of this, though. Beyond the whole thing that witch of Alison made up, I... I'm always the same freaking idiot."

Hanna listened to him, staying silent and still for a moment before beginning to pace up and down the room.

"I can't believe it..." she murmured then.

"I'd understand if you don't believe all of this absurd story, but I swear I told you the truth now. The _whole_ truth."

"No, I believe you, I know Alison, just... You should have told me at the hospital."

Caleb shook his head.

"No, it would've been the nth whimpering of defences and victim complex. Look... As soon as I saw you there, I didn't think about covering my ass, I... I only thought about how fucking lucky I was to see you were there, by my side, still wearing your engagement ring. That's all I thought. I didn't think about Alison, CeCe, the movie, the lies or the motorbike I had destroyed. I only thought about you, about how happy I was to feel your hand in mine again, about...about how much I loved you." he added.

Hanna was staring at him, but didn't move or say anything. Caleb bit his bottom lip, looking back at her, waiting for her to do or say something, but she didn't. Then, he took a deep breath and walked past her, only to go out on the balcony to smoke a cigarette, guessing she needed a moment for herself to process everything he had just told her. He lit it up and took a long drag, breathing out the smoke in a deep sigh. But it wasn't long before Hanna came up by his side.

"You were so concerned about me smoking, and yet here you are..." she commented.

"Ezra has such a big mouth, huh?" he replied, motioning a smile and put the cigarette out, since he didn't want to smoke near her.

"It was me the one nagging him. I wanted him to tell me what you said every single time the two of you talked on the phone..."

"Then why you didn't want to talk to me?"

"Because I was mad at you."

Caleb sighed and nodded. Of course she was, what a stupid question.

"That girl at the hospital, she... She had fallen for you, right?" she asked then.

He raised his eyebrows at her question before answering.

"Yeah, I think so. But... But then she understood I would never be hers, so she eventually just helped me to stay strong those last days. How did you understand, though? She told you?"

"No, she didn't. But... Well, I know how easy is to fall for you." she shrugged.

He chuckled and shook his head. A few seconds of silence followed that before Caleb restarted.

"You know, before leaving I stopped by your mom's. I wanted to see her. I told her about our argument, about how bad I felt about it, and then I promised her I would fight for you, no matter what. She just hugged me and told me everything would be fine, that I would become your husband and that we would be happy. She gave me a lot of hope that day... She was truly one of the best people I've ever met in my whole life."

Hanna smiled sadly.

"I didn't know you went to her." she murmured then.

"I told her not to tell you." he shrugged.

She sighed and looked at the view from their balcony, as Caleb did the same.

"I'm sorry she won't be at our wedding." she whispered suddenly.

He slowly turned to her.

"So... So you...still want to marry me?" he mumbled then.

She turned to him as well, and he noticed that her eyes were filled with tears. He furrowed an eyebrow and cupped her cheek, running his thumb over the side of her face.

"Hey, no, no, no, no... Don't cry. Please. You kill me when you cry..." he whispered gently.

She shook her head quickly, squeezing her eyes trying to fight the tears.

"Sorry, just... These days are being too emotional to me." she mumbled then, placing her hand over his, still placed on her cheek.

"Don't apologize... I get it." he told her softly.

She looked down for a moment before crossing his gaze again. Their faces were so close.

"You know... You can be the biggest idiot of the world sometimes... But I love you so much." she blurted out.

He smiled softly at her.

"Yeah, I know. So... Will you marry me, Hanna Marin?" he asked then.

She finally made a small smile. A part of herself wondered how many women heard the same man popping out the question twice...and answered him the same way.

"Yes, I will." she whispered then, leaning in so that the tip of their noses were pressed against each other.

He smiled softly and finally made their lips meet, and that was his real return home. He kissed her very delicately, almost as he was scared to hurt her, someway. It was probably the gentlest kiss they had ever shared. But it was enough to make both of them feel something twist into their stomaches because of the emotion. When they pulled away, Hanna kept his face in between her hands and looked into his eyes. He motioned a smile and rubbed the tip of his nose against hers.

"God, how much I missed you..." he whispered then.

She pecked her lips again before replying.

"I missed you too. I couldn't wait for you to come back home. It's such a...very bad time, I'm so glad you're here... But I want you to know that I'm not doing this because it's a tough moment and I just need some comfort, I—"

"Shhh... I know, babe. I know. I love you." he cut her off, gently moving a few strands of her hair behind her ears.

She smiled slightly at him, and he felt so happy to see her smile that he could swear his heart was growing bigger.

"I love you too. But now let's get back inside because it's freaking cold and you have just a shirt on..." she replied.

"I like when you're concerned about me." he smiled.

"Just get inside." she smiled back, shaking her head and grabbing his hand.

* * *

After finishing their lunch, Hanna and Caleb cuddled on their couch. He did his best not to make her think about her mom, talking about Aria's pregnancy, Liam and a lot of other things. After a little while, Liam woke up, and all the three, as usual by then, watched together _Finding Nemo_. Caleb, with his son on his lap and his fiancé cuddled up against his side, realized how lucky he was and how important was to be always honest with the people he loved.

There was definitely no place like home...because it truly was where his heart was.

* * *

**A/N: Hi, lovely people! :) Before anything, sorry for the long wait, I'm back to college so I'm not so free like this summer :'( Anyway, I'm still here and I will always be ;) So... Finally Haleb made up! How was it? I hope not too cheesy, but cute enough :D And I hope you enjoyed the little Caleb/Liam's moment at the beginning as well :) I'm also very happy you liked last chapter even though it was pretty sad... For the guest who asked me about Hanna's relationship with her dad in this story, well, actually I wanted to make it similar to the show, because Hanna's dad is not very present in her life in this fic either, but I just assumed that in a moment like that he would be there for her, after all :) And thank you guys so so so much both for your reviews and your congratulations on my exam :) So, I hope this chapter was as good as you thought it would be —or maybe better :P—, and I also promise you a good next chapter too, maybe with also a surprise(?) at the end ;) Who knows? :P I can't wait to read what you thought of this chapter, so let me know ;) Have a nice weekend everyone! Love you all! xx -Atramea.**


	27. Chapter 27

That night, after Liam had fallen asleep, Hanna and Caleb stayed on the couch watching a TV show. He had gone to Ezra's that afternoon and had taken his luggages from there, bringing them back home. She was cuddled up to him as he pulled her close.

"It feels so good to be home..." he whispered, nuzzling his nose through her hair and inhaling the scent of her vanilla shampoo.

She adjusted against his chest, careful not to press her weight on his injured zone.

"I missed you so much." she whispered then.

"I missed you too." he replied, kissing the top of her head.

But despite the TV distracting her, at some point Hanna inevitably thought back to what had happened that day, and even though she was happy about making up with Caleb, she couldn't help but think about her mom too. So she started crying, trying to smother her sobs not to make him hear, but he clearly noticed it. He sighed and held her tighter to him, as she finally allowed herself to break down.

"I-I'm s-so sorry, I just... I c-can't control it..." she mumbled, but he just shushed her, stroking her hair.

A few minutes later, she had stopped crying, but she was still cuddled up to Caleb in a comfortable silence.

"Wait up." he told her suddenly, getting up from the couch.

He felt horrible seeing her like that, so he went to the kitchen and made her a hot chocolate, knowing she loved it. He brought it to her in a steamy mug and placed it on the coffee table, then he made a small smile at her.

"Thank you." she whispered, wiping her tears away before kissing him on the cheek.

He replied with another smile, then he just stared at her as she finished her chocolate.

"What?" she asked, placing the empty mug on the coffee table.

"Nothing, just... You're more beautiful when you're smiling. I don't like seeing you hurt..."

She smiled a little.

"Thanks for the chocolate." she added then.

"Anytime. It was nothing."

"No, seriously... You cheered me up. You always find a way to make me feel better."

He chose not to say anything, he just came closer to her, tenderly placing his lips against hers, starting to kiss her slowly and gently. His hand went to her face to cup her cheek, as the kiss slowly became more heated. He titled his head to the side to gain a better access to her mouth and slid his tongue in between her lips softly, tangling with hers. Their tongues danced together for a while, then Hanna's hands started undoing the buttons of Caleb's shirt as he tried to pull her sweater over her head, but the fact he could use just one hand was making him the work rather hard. She pulled away and giggled, seeing his difficulty.

"Don't worry, okay? Let me take care of everything." she whispered.

He nodded as she got up and took his hand, leading him to their bedroom. She gestured for him to sit on the edge of the bed, so he did, then Hanna took her sweater —which was actually Caleb's— off, as he watched her in awe. Her jeans and shoes followed shortly after, then she finally approached him, dressed only in her underwear and bra. He smiled up at her as she unclasped her bra for him, letting it fall to the ground. Caleb placed his hand on her hip as she stood in between his legs, then he buried his face into her bare chest, taking in the sweet scent of her skin for a moment before starting to kiss her breasts. Hanna took his head between her hands and threw her head back, enjoying the feeling of Caleb's lips all over her body, which she had missed so much. Then, his lips parted and his tongue gently swirled over one of her hardened nipples, as her first moan left her mouth. He did the same with her other nipple before pulling away and smiling up at her. She smiled back, stroking the back of his head as his hand went up to her panties, brushing two of his fingers over her clad centre. She gasped, closing a fist through his locks before looking down at him again. He stopped, waiting for her next move, so she finished undoing the buttons of his shirt. Then she tried to take it off, but this time it was Caleb who chuckled.

"It doesn't matter. Leave it on. It would be too complicated to take it off given my bandage, and... I don't want to waste time right now." he whispered hoarsely then.

She smiled and gave him a small nod, focusing for a second on the small corset he had around his chest because of his broken rib. He noticed her slight concern and squeezed her hip reassuringly, so she resumed eye contact with him and he smiled softly at her.

"It's okay. I'm fine." he whispered again.

She nodded, believing him, before bending down slightly to work on his belt buckle. He bit his lip watching her do that, all focused on him, basically naked and gorgeous as always. When she was done, he raised his hips to help her push them down to his ankles. Then, she cupped his cheek and approached his face to kiss him passionately, as she managed to pull down the last item Caleb was still wearing. He pulled away and hooked his thumb in the waistband of her panties, and she smiled at him, hooking her own thumb in the other side of the waistband, so that they could pull them down together. She liked that he cared so much to do that, no matter what. So, with her help, soon her panties were off too. He moved his hand back on her hip and smiled as she positioned herself on his lap, straddling him.

"I love you..." he whispered, pulling a loose strand of her hair off her face before settling his hand back on her hip.

"I love you too..." she smiled.

Then she kissed him again, slipping her hands into his unbuttoned shirt and placing then firmly on his warm back as she felt Caleb move his hips, teasingly rubbing his cock up and down her lower lips. She sighed and raised her own hips, wanting to feel him inside of her after what seemed like an eternity, and he received the message. He entered her slowly, never breaking their kiss, and she lowered herself around him slowly as well, until they were finally one into the other. They basically met halfway to reconnect their bodies and soul. A sigh escaped from her lips and a soft grunt from his ones, eventually forcing their mouths to separate. Caleb buried his head into the crook of her neck as she started rhytmically rocking herself on top of him, slowly, his hand still on her hip, following her gentle pace. He hated not being able to hug her properly as they made love, but it always felt the best thing ever to be with her and into her, both physically and mentally. It just made him feel _complete_.

Hanna crossed her legs behind his back, using each one of her muscles to move both back and forward and up and down on top of him, as he kissed her neck softly. His fingers slowly lowered from her hip to her asscheek, stroking her skin lightly. Then, he raised his head and looked up at her, who had her eyes narrowed and her lips slightly parted. She looked both too cute and hot for words.

"Am I hurting you?" she immediately asked, concerned, panting.

He smiled and shook his head, panting as well.

"Not at all..." he replied softly.

She smiled back and kissed him once again, feeling allowed to speed up the slow pace she had set, so she did, just a little bit. Caleb broke the kiss and squeezed her asscheek, biting his bottom lip.

"Faster, babe... Go faster..." he whispered, now panting more heavily.

She obeyed, starting to rock herself way faster, letting him hit deeper inside her. He moaned and bit gently on her shoulder, looping his arm around her waist and holding her tight to him, enjoying the new deepness. The movements of his hips became more harsh as a consequence, feeling the burning desire to go as deep as he could, and the pleasure started raising quickly inside Hanna as well. She threw her head back and moaned, burying her fingernails into the flesh of his toned back.

"God, Caleb..." she sighed, squeezing her eyes shut as both their movements gradually started becoming clunky and blunt.

He sucked on her shoulder and pinched her hip, feeling closer and closer to his peak. But there would be no way he would allow himself to come before her. He wanted her to be pleased first of all, he had to be always second to her. He brushed his nose over her collarbone, finding her breast with his mouth and closing his lips around her nipple again, touching its tip with his tongue, as he moved his hand all over her long leg. Her head fell on top of his as she felt all of her energy slowly and pleasantly leaving her muscles.

"I'm coming, Caleb..." she exhaled, her eyes still closed.

"Mmh-mmh..." he mumbled, not able to form any proper word.

He pushed his hips upwards, slamming himself inside of her the hardest he could a couple of times more and she finally released herself, enjoying all in once all the pleasure they had created together until then. She held onto Caleb like he was her only handhold throughout a storm, letting out an high-pitched moan straight into his ear. He placed his head back to the crook of her neck and, squeezing her thigh, he pushed himself one last time inside of her and froze for a second, feeling his load right about to get out of his body. Then he let out _that_ grunt, the one Hanna had learnt to recognize by now, and finally came as well, helped by the overwhelming feeling of her walls clenching around him.

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, doing nothing but catching their breaths, their eyes closed, their hearts furiously pumping against each other's chest, until Hanna moved her hands to cup his face and stroked his cheeks. He lifted his head enough to place a chaste kiss on her lips, then he moved it back into the crook of her neck, feeling someway protected there, looping his arm around her waist again, hugging her the way he could.

"I'm home." he whispered then.

"I'm home too, now." she whispered back.

* * *

Hanna put back on only her underwear and Caleb's black sweater before helping him to remove his shirt for good and put his pajamas on for the night. Then, they finally got into their bed, under the blankets, all contently cuddled up together. Liam seemed to be still asleep, and they hoped he would keep going that way, so that they wouldn't need to get up in the middle of the night. Caleb also hoped Hanna's mind didn't go back to Ashley at least for that night, because he hated seeing her like that. For the moment, they were just enjoying to be together.

"Albaruenta told me I'm going to get all the money by the end of the week. I also called mr Pennish this afternoon to confirm that we're going to buy his house...if that's still what you want." he said then, stroking her hair.

She lifted her head slightly from where it was on her chest to smile up at him.

"Of course it is." she added.

"Good. Well... Looks like we eventually made it. This has probably been the hardest period of our lives, so much happened, but I feel like a fresh start's coming for us now. Maybe I shouldn't have accepted that job—"

"Stop, Caleb. That job gave us the money to buy the house. And we're here now. It's fine. The bad stuff's finally over." she cut him off.

He sighed and kissed the top of her head as she made herself comfortable against his side again.

"You're right. And I definitely missed this." he whispered then.

"Yeah, me too. I didn't think it would feel so bad to wake up in a king-size bed alone. It was pretty awful, you know?"

"You don't have to worry about that anymore. The other side of the bed will always be occupied by now, like it has always been before I left... But soon, it will be occupied by your husband, babe."

She lifted her head once again, smiling, before kissing his lips softly. When they pulled away, though, she didn't lie back down.

"You know, about what you said earlier..." she began.

"What?"

"Yeah, the fact that there's a fresh start coming for us..."

"Yeah, I mean that soon we'll get married, we'll move into a new house, you know..."

She looked down and pursed her lips. He cupped her cheek and made her look up at him.

"What's wrong, babe?" he asked furrowing his eyebrows, slighly concerned.

She took a deep breath.

"I have to tell you something." she blurted out then.

He nodded at her, stroking her cheek with his thumb. She looked away for a moment, sighing deeply, before turning back to him.

"I'm... I'm not sure yet, but... I... I might be pregnant." she finally said.

Caleb widened his eyes, but a huge grin appeared on his face.

"W-What?" he stuttered, raising his eyebrows.

Hanna tried to contain her smile as she replied.

"I don't know for sure, but I'm almost two weeks late. I haven't taken any test yet, though."

"Why not?"

She sighed before answering.

"I want to wait a little longer before doing that, because... Because I'd rather waking up in the morning to find out my period's back than looking at five sticks tell me I'm not pregnant. I just don't want to get false hopes."

He smiled a little, stroking her cheek lightly. He didn't know why, for some reason, she thought she couldn't get pregnant. But if waiting would make her feel better, then it was totally fine to him.

"Okay, then we'll wait a little longer." he nodded then.

"Would... Would you still be happy if I am?"

"Is that even a question? I'd be the happiest man in the world, babe. But, just to clarify, I'm already really happy to be here with you right now." he smiled.

She leaned in and kissed him before readjusting her body around his.

"I love you." he murmured, closing his eyes and holding her close.

"I love you too."

And that was all that really mattered, whether she was pregnant or not.

* * *

**A/N: Hi guys! So I finally managed to update this :) I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter, so I hope you will like this one too... Some Haleb cuteness after all this time was needed, wasn't it? ;) And seems like you guys were right about the "surprise"... So what about this Haleb baby number 2? Is Hanna really pregnant? We'll have to see ;) So, FrenchBenzo, they did have a few issues before Caleb left for Spain, but they had already sorted them out back then :) so the only things they needed to sort out were those they discussed last chapter, so now they should be okay ;) I really hope you enjoyed this chapter though, I'm pretty happy about the way it came out, so... I'm really curious about your opinions :) Next chapter is gonna be mainly focused on Liam ;) and the next chapter of GoW's almost ready too, just give me some time more :) That's all, guys! Thank you so much for your reviews as always, thanks for reading and if you want leave a comment, it'd be appreciated :):) Have a nice week! And happy birthday Tyler :P Love you guys! xx -Atramea.**


	28. Chapter 28

The following morning, Liam was very whimsical. He had been asking about Ashley for a while, wondering why she hadn't come over that morning. Very often, Hanna had to go to work in the morning, so Ashley came to her place to look after Liam. Hanna and Caleb had tried to tell him that she couldn't, but he wanted to know why and they really didn't know what to tell him. That's why, after a while, Caleb finally told him they would go visit Ashley, under Hanna's not so sure gaze.

They got into their car and Caleb told Hanna to drive to the cemetery, since he couldn't drive because of his arm. She didn't know what exactly he had in mind, but she wanted to trust him. When they got here, Caleb and Hanna took each one of Liam's hands and led him to Ashley's grave. Liam looked quizzically to his grandma's picture before turning to Caleb.

"Where's grandma Ash, daddy?"

Caleb cleared his throat and got to his knees next to Liam, still holding his little hand.

"Liam, little man... Grandma... She left for a long trip, so... We won't see her again. You know, everyone of us will have to go away at some point, and... Well, this time it was grandma's turn. But she's watching you from where she is, she knows how you are and she keeps loving you. Look around, little man... Here there are all the pictures of the people who went away, who left for their long trip, so that we can come here and see them again. And you know, if you speak close to grandma's picture, you send a message to her. She will hear you. You can talk to her. But don't get angry if she can't reply to you, the trip is long and maybe grandma can't reply, but remember that she listens to you and she will always do that. She loves you so much and you don't have to forget it." he told his son.

"Why she not come say goodbye if she had to leave?" Liam asked, confused.

Caleb sighed before answering him.

"She didn't make it on time, sweetheart. She didn't even manage to pack her things, you know? Her train arrived very early, so she had to take it without having time to say us goodbye or get ready what she needed to."

"But where did she go?" the kid asked again.

"Well, she went to... She went above all of us, in a place called heaven, in the sky. Yeah, right above you, little man, so she can have a better view of us all. You know, she's become an angel, she has wings now. Everyone who did everything they needed to down here go up there, becoming an angel. It's like they...completed a mission, got it? So they go there to get rest, and they check that everyone down here is doing well their mission, in the meanwhile. They also protect us from bad things. Every angel has someone to protect, and grandma Ash is gonna look after you, mommy and I. But... But she's fine, don't worry about that, alright?" Caleb replied.

"But you and mommy don't go away, yeah, daddy?" Liam asked, frowning.

Caleb did all he could to fight his tears back as he replied.

"Oh, sweetheart... Of course not! You're here, and we need to be with you."

Liam looked at him, not really convinced, so Caleb cupped his chin and continued.

"Hey... Look at me. Mommy and I are not leaving you, got it? I promise. If sometimes we're gonna have to be away from home like daddy had to in these days, it's gonna be just for a few days, okay? Heaven will wait, because mommy and daddy's mission is to raise you and they can't go away before doing that. We'll be here with you, don't be scared."

The kid nodded briefly, then he hugged his daddy.

"But I want grandma Ash too!" he whined then.

Caleb held him tightly, rubbing circles on his back and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Then he lifted his gaze, noticing Hanna was crying, and he gave her a small smile before pulling away from Liam.

"I know, little man. I know. Mommy and I would want her here with us too, but... We can't bring her back, unfortunately. But, hey... You're a big boy now. Show grandma Ash how strong you are, make her proud of you, because she's always watching you. Act like a man, alright? I know you can." he told him then.

"Okay, daddy. Me strong." Liam replied, nodding.

"There's my little man." Caleb smiled proudly.

He glanced again at Hanna, who was wiping her tears, then he looked back to Liam.

"Let's get back home now, yeah?" he whispered to his son.

Liam nodded and took Caleb's and Hanna's hands, and the three made their way back to their car. Once Liam was settled in the back, Hanna closed his door and turned to Caleb, who was still outside too. He smiled at her and wiped a single tear away from her cheek with his thumb. Then she just hugged him, resting her cheek against his chest and looping her arms around his waist as he kissed through her hair.

* * *

The rest of the day went by quickly. Liam had no more tantrums, and the family of three spent a relaxing day home. The kid fell asleep pretty early that night, so Hanna and Caleb took their chance to go to sleep early too, in order to recover some energy. Unfortunately, though, just a little after they fell asleep, a small whim woke both of them up. Hanna sighed and was about to get up, but Caleb was already on his feet.

"Caleb, I can—"

"I got this." he cut her off, smiling.

"Okay, but... Try to come back soon." she just told him, making herself comfortable on her pillow.

He nodded and smiled at her before walking to Liam's room.

Caleb rocked Liam against his chest for some minutes, but he soon realized his son wasn't going to give up so easily. So, he brought him downstairs, to the living room, trying to calm him down with some music. It usually worked, it was a good method. He turn the stereo on and sat on the couch, cuddling Liam against his chest. But as the kid got relaxed, he got relaxed as well, maybe too much.

* * *

Caleb lifted his eyelids, feeling someone stroke his cheek. He had fallen asleep along with Liam, who was still sound asleep on his lap. Hanna smiled at him as soon as he opened his eyes.

"Hey..." he whispered.

"Hey... I saw you weren't coming back, so I decided to check how things were going down here, and... I found you both asleep listening to Sam Smith. I also snapped a picture of the two of you with my phone, it's just become my new blockscreen. You were just too cute." she whispered back.

"What an idiot... I got up from the bed to fall asleep on the couch..." he chuckled.

"Yeah, well... The little man's sleeping, so... Mission accomplished."

He smiled at her before looking down at his sleeping son.

"I guess so." he whispered then.

"Let's tuck him back in, c'mon." she whispered back, gently picking Liam up from where he was curled up on Caleb's lap.

Caleb followed Hanna as she carried Liam back to his room, smiling at the thought that his family could grow up soon. After giving their son a kiss on the forehead, they went back to their room, slipping under the blankets and cuddling, waiting for the sleep to take them away.

"How are you feeling?" he asked in a whisper, playing with her hair.

"Better. Thanks to you." she replied softly.

He kissed her head before continuing.

"You know, it hurts me too that Ashley won't be at our wedding, but... But I truly think that she's gonna watch us from where she is, one way or another. She's gonna be happy for us. I owe her a lot and I know that she would have wanted me to protect you and be by your side forever. And that's what I'm gonna do."

"You're right. She's already watching us, wherever she is."

"Yeah. And she couldn't be prouder of you."

Hanna smiled and lifted her head, placing a hand on his cheek as she gave him a sweet lingering kiss.

"The world has been so unfair by taking her away from me so soon, though..." she murmured then.

Caleb sighed, stroking her cheek.

"I know. But, hey, you're so strong... You always manage to get up after falling down, everytime. You just need to do that this time too. You know, Liam took all of his strength from you, so... Look... I know it's hard but... I will help you through this, okay? It's gonna be fine, I promise." he told her softly.

She nodded briefly, then Caleb kissed her again.

"Anyway... You're a wonderful dad." she whispered when they pulled away.

Caleb smiled and shook his head before replying.

"Shut up. I'm a dad who leaves his son and goes to the other side of the world for almost two months." he whispered back.

Hanna looked straight into his eyes and replied.

"You're a dad who loves his son more than his own life and I know it. And by the way he looks at you and by the way he always calms down into your arms when something's wrong or when he just can't sleep make me think that he loves you the same. And then... What you told him about my mom today was... So beautiful. Delicate, gentle... Emotional. You spoke to him with the right words, even though talking about death to a two years old kid is really tough stuff. But you managed to. You were perfect, believe me. You moved me. I'm... I'm so happy you will always be there for Liam. And I'm so happy you were here when he said his first word, when he took his first step, when he had his first bath, when there were diapers to change, when he learned to give kisses or when he put a pencil on a paper for the first time. I'm happy that these moments belong to you just like they belong to me, I... I'm so happy I have a family and that I have it with you. You two are all I have, you're my family, my life. And that's wonderful. That's all I want. It won't be jealousy, pride, my or your shortcomings to prevent me from growing old with this happiness into my heart. I want all of this forever, no matter what. You may be an idiot sometimes, I may be too proud, you and I may even be those same irresponsible people we were when we first met, we've probably done huge mistakes towards each other, but... But I know we're gonna be perfect all together. You, our son and I. And, if God wants, maybe others little munchkins too. There's nothing I'd want more than giving you other children, but... Look, I'm happy like this too, and I'm so honored I'm marrying you, Caleb. I want it with all myself. And I'm sure about it. You know... My mom left me way too early, it still hurts so much that I can't even tell, but I can't just think about that and not see how much beautiful my life is. The life I have is the life I want. So... Thank you, for every single thing."

He looked at her with such love into his eyes, now feeling moved as well. He had risked to lose her so many times that he had lost count, but those words of hers and the way she had told him made him feel her closer to him than ever. He was totally sure too. He loved her and he wanted her to be the woman of his life. He then made a small smile and stroked her cheek.

"You left me speechless, I... I don't know what to say." he stuttered.

"You don't have to say anything." she whispered back, leaning back into his embrace.

But then he suddenly pulled her back to him, bringing her lips to his and giving her another soft gentle kiss.

"I love you." he whispered then, meaningfully, knowing that it was probably the best thing he could tell her at the moment.

She smiled up at him.

"I love you too." she replied, finally lowering her head back on Caleb's chest and falling asleep surrounded by his cologne.

* * *

**A/N: Ugh, how much cheesiness :D I hope it wasn't too bad though ;) Especially the part where Caleb talked to Liam about Ashley :( Anyways, as always, thank you so much for all of your reviews, I'm really happy you liked last chapter :) So, I'm a little bit sad to tell you guys that this story is almost coming to an end :( But don't worry, I have in mind to write a last chapter, then an epilogue, and then an extra chapter which it will actualy be the very last one :D Plus we're still some chapter away from the "first" last chapter, so... Yeah, there's still some time :) Just wanted to warn you ;) But I'm not gonna tell you if the drama is over or not, keep reading and you'll find out haha :P Aaaand, before you guys ask, I'm currently working on the next chapter of GoW, I'll publish it in the next days, but since my weekly college schedule it's kind of stressful, I can't make any promises. In the worst case, you'll have it by next weekend, but of course I hope sooner :D So, I hope you'll let me know your thoughts about this chapter, even if you want to tell me that the cheesiness was exaggerated :P And since the story's almost over, I also hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :) Thank you guys for stopping by here — and sorry for the late! Love you all, until next time! xx -Atramea.**


	29. Chapter 29

Two weeks later, Caleb finally took all of his bandages off. He had to do some x-rays and be checked at the hospital, but everything was okay. All of his fractures were now recomposed. Hanna still hadn't gotten her period and, despite Caleb pressing her to finally take a test, she still wanted to wait a little longer.

It was December by now, it was very cold. That Sunday morning, both Caleb and Hanna didn't have to work. He woke up pretty early, then kissed the top of her head before getting up from the bed, walking to the balcony only to find out that outside was snowing and the streets were all covered in white. He shivered because of the cold and got back into the bed, under the warm blankets. Hanna moaned and cuddled closer to him.

"What time is it?" she mumbled, her eyes still closed.

"It's still early, don't worry. Outside's snowing." he whispered, rubbing his hand up and down her side to keep her warm.

"It is?" she asked then, opening her eyes and looking up at him.

Caleb nodded, smiling. Hanna turned around and got up from the bed too to go checking outside. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the snow and a smile crossed her face. She ran back to the bed and returned underneath the blankets.

"See?" he whispered.

She nodded and smiled before kissing him. He smiled as well into the kiss, rolling over, resting his back against the mattress and pulling Hanna on top of him. She let go of his lips and shrieked, laughing, before he brought her mouth back down to his. He loved the fact that he could finally hug her and sustain her full weight on his chest without any problems.

His hands made their way up underneath the sweater of his she was wearing, feeling the warmth of her back underneath his fingertips, and she shivered.

"Your hands are cold..." she whispered, breaking out their make-out session for a moment.

"Sorry." he whispered back.

But then she smiled and kissed him again, keeping his face in between her hands as he rubbed circles on the bare skin of her back. She tangled her legs with his underneath the blankets, as their bodies got warm together. After a minute, she pulled away again, breathing for air. Caleb smiled at her cuteness and rubbed the tip of his nose against hers.

"Why do you like snow so much?" he asked softly, his hands still travelling up and down her back.

"Well... It's not I like snow. Actually, I like staying in bed the whole day, all warm and comfortable, when outside's so cold that it's snowing."

"You mean, in bed _with me_?" he raised an eyebrow, smirking.

She looked up at the ceiling and tapped her index against her chin, pretending to be thinking.

"Mmh... Maybe." she whispered then.

He smirked again and joined their lips back together. As their tongues chased each other, his hands slowly made their way down, getting out of the sweater only to find her ass, only covered by a pair of blue satin panties. One of his fingers slipped underneath the material and traced a soft line on her asscheek, which made her moan into his mouth. He groaned too when she unvoluntarily pressed her knee right on his hardening member, trapped into his boxers. That made her laugh, but she held it back because she didn't wanna stop kissing him for anything in the world. She just moved her hands from his face down all of his chest, covered by a black undershirt, until they reached his boxers. She blindly fumbled down there, still heavily kissing him, until his erected member was free. Then, she put the material of her panties aside, bringing his ready member to her entrance. He moaned into her mouth feeling her wetness, but waited before pushing himself inside. His hands went completely underneath the back of her panties, gripping her asscheeks into his hands and squeezing them as he pushed her onto his member, but never enough to penetrate her. He stopped just an inch before, and he did that three, four, five times, and Hanna felt like he was killing her. She pulled away and groaned.

"Caleb..." she muttered, her eyes unfocused.

He grinned and bit his lip, repeating his mean teasing once again.

"F-Fuck, Caleb!" she moaned, trying to push her hips forward in order to make him enter, but he didn't let her.

He pinched her asscheek, and kissed her neck when she threw her head back in exasperation.

"Babe, look at me..." he whispered then, gaining her attention.

She opened her eyes and looked down at him, panting. Only when her gaze crossed his, he finally pushed himself inside of her. She hissed, bringing her arms back outside of the blankets to circle his neck. He slightly lifted himself from the mattress so that she could hold on to him, and began thrusting in and out slowly. She moved her hips to meet his thrusts, using his strong shoulders as a lever as he whispered sweet nothings into her ear. He kept massaging her asscheeks as well, and she tried to smother her verses against the skin of his neck. At some point, she lifted her head and kissed him again, and he gladly received her. They didn't want to speed their movements up so that their moment of intimacy could last as long as possible.

She was the one who climaxed first, giving in to him when the pleasure was too much for her to handle. She broke the kiss and squeezed her eyes shut, clenching around him at the rhytm of her quick heartbeat. Then she collapsed on him as he buried himself the deepest he could into her, staying still. He didn't move anymore at that point, he just let her clenching walls push him over the edge. His muscles tightened up hard before abruptly releasing themselves, and he blew some air out of his cheeks, making a weird noise. Then, his head fell back on the pillow as he finally emptied his all into her warm womanhood.

They breathed in and out together, lying there, under the blankets, still joined together. Caleb pulled his hands out of her panties to circle her waist and hug her, kissing her forehead gently. She smiled at the feeling as she listened to his heartbeat, smiling even more when she realized it matched hers. When she felt he was no longer throbbing, she gently moved her hands back under the blankets, helping him to pull out. She haphazardly put him back into his underwear too before pulling herself up slightly, enough to look into his eyes, and smiled down at him. He smiled back as she began stroking his cheeks, feeling his light stubble underneath her fingetips.

"I like when it's snowing too." he whispered then, grinning.

She laughed slightly.

"I noticed that." she whispered back before leaning in and kissing him softly.

Now they sure weren't cold anymore.

"Can we just stay here all day long?" she asked when they pulled away.

He chuckled.

"Yeah, we can, but... Actually, I was thinking we could go to the new house with the little man today. Just imagine how that garden looks with the snow. Liam's gonna go crazy." he replied then.

She smiled brightly, realizing how good his idea was.

"You're right. We're definitely spending the day there." she replied then.

"Yeah. But now's way early, so... I'd suggest we lie here for a while."

She nodded, still smiling, before cuddling back to him. They lied on their sides, facing each other, so that he could hug her. She hid her face in the crook of his neck and they both closed their eyes, wrapped in the comfortable warmth their bodies had created. It felt so nice.

"Tomorrow I'm going to see some groom suits." he whispered at some point.

"Really?" she asked excitedly, but she didn't bother to open her eyes or move since she was too comfortable into his strong arms.

"Yeah. Ezra, my mom and Jess are coming with me. And I was thinking about taking Liam too. But don't worry, neither my mom nor my sister are gonna say anything about the dresses you said you liked. I already tried but they're unmovable. Damn you women."

She laughed, absent-mindedly playing with the hem of his undershirt.

"Well... They're not gonna tell me anything about your suit either. You and I are gonna see our dresses the day of the wedding, that's it. It has to be a surprise for both." she commented then.

"Whatever. Just marry me." he muttered, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"I will." she smiled widely, even though he couldn't see her.

"And tonight Aria and Ezra want us to come over for dinner. You remember, right?"

"Yeah. That's fine."

He ran his hand up and down her back, staying silent for a while as she got relaxed with his cuddles.

"Are you cold?" he whispered at some time.

"Not anymore." she smiled against his neck.

He pulled her even closer to him and held her body tighter, kissing repeatedly the top of her head. She smiled even more and placed a single kiss on his clad chest, her eyes still closed. Everything felt so right.

"Mommy! Daddy!" a cute voice squeaked.

Caleb opened his eyes only to find Liam on the doorframe, running to their bed.

"Little man! What are you doing here?" Caleb smiled, surprised.

Liam reached the bed and Hanna left Caleb's nice embrace to turn around and pick her son up, bringing him under the blankets with them.

"How did you get down from your bed?" Caleb asked then, hugging Hanna again, this time spooning her.

"I jump!" the kid squealed excitedly.

Hanna shook her head, a little annoyed by Liam's daredevil act but too madly in love with him to get mad at him. The kid snuggled against her chest and hugged her waist as well, meeting his daddy's strong arms. Hanna smiled and held Liam to her, kissing the top of his head.

"Did you come here to get some cuddles, baby?" she whispered to him.

"Yeah, mommy. I cuddle, I like." The kid mumbled in reply.

Caleb chuckled and rubbed his hand over his son's little arm, kissing the back of Hanna's neck at the same time.

"Little man, you know we sandwiched mommy?" he asked Liam then.

"What, daddy?" the kid asked back, genuinely confused.

"Daddy meant that you two are both hugging mommy. It's like you're two pieces of bread that are trapping mommy in the middle, you know, like a sandwich." Hanna tried to explain Liam, rubbing circles on his back in the meantime.

"I like sandwich." Liam commented simply, snuggling into his mommy's chest.

"What about snow, little man? Do you like snow?" Caleb asked from his position behind Hanna.

Liam had only seen snow a couple of times, and he was absolutely crazy about that.

"Yay!" he replied then to his daddy.

"Do you know it's snowing outside?" Hanna asked.

Liam raised his head and looked up at his mom with a sparkle into his eyes.

"Really, mommy?" he asked.

"Sure. Wanna go see from the window?" Hanna continued.

Liam was thrilled to see it, but then he realized he was feeling too comfortable in that moment to even think of leaving that bed and his mommy's warm embrace.

"I see later." he disclosed then, happily readjusting himself against Hanna's chest.

Caleb chuckled and extended his arm over Hanna's hip to tickle Liam's tummy.

"So our little man here likes cuddles more than snow!" he exclaimed, as Liam laughed under his touch.

"Daddy, you like cuddles or snow more?" the kid asked when Caleb stopped tickling him.

Caleb smiled down at him and pulled Hanna closer to his body.

"_Definitely_ cuddles, just like you." he told him then, pressing a kiss against the shell of Hanna's ear and then lightly pinching Liam's little cheek in between two of his fingers.

Then, he settled his hand back on Hanna's hip, absent-mindedly toying with the waistband of her underwear before speaking again to Liam.

"Anyway, later we're all going to play with snow to the new house. How does that sound, little man?"

"Yay! Pwaying!" Liam exclaimed excitedly, raising his two little fists in the air.

Hanna laughed at his excitement and held her son to her as Caleb pressed some other lingering kisses over her temple, cheek and neck.

That was definitely the life she wanted.

* * *

A few hours later, Hanna, Caleb and Liam arrived in front of their new house. It was currently under refurbish, but they had already bought it so they had the keys. However, that day they were there only to play in the garden.

Once they parked the car and got out of it, Caleb picked Liam up, gently fixing his little beanie making sure that his ears were covered.

"Daddy, carry me to new house on shoulders!" the kid exclaimed, laughing.

"Baby, that's not a good idea. Remember daddy had that thing to his arm? You should wait a little before daddy can do that again, you could hurt him, you know..." Hanna explained Liam.

"Oh, it's not a big deal. Mommy just gets too much concerned. C'mon, little man. Hold on to daddy." Caleb said then, lifting Liam in the air before putting him on his shoulders.

Liam squealed in happiness as he sat on his daddy's shoulders, his little legs hanging over Caleb's chest.

"Caleb..." Hanna muttered, glaring at him.

"Babe, I'm fine. Relax. If they took my bandages off, it means that my shoulder healed. The little man wants to get on my shoulders? Well, the little man gets on my shoulders. I'm okay, I swear." Caleb replied, gripping each one of Liam's little calfs to keep him steady.

She just sighed, not really convinced by his decision.

"Mommy, look! I'm _sooooo_ tall!" Liam exclaimed from where he was.

Hanna smiled up at him.

"Yes, you are, but don't move too much up there, alright? Be careful!" she added then.

Liam nodded, putting his little hands under Caleb's chin.

"Well, then... Let's go playing." Caleb finally said, smiling at Hanna.

She smiled back, putting her hand around Caleb's arm as the three started walking together toward the house.

Once they got to the large garden area in front of the house, Caleb carefully took Liam and placed him on his feet. He squealed and started running all around, happy to see his little footsteps printed on the snow.

"Mommy! Look!" he shrieked, pointing to the ground.

Hanna smiled largely at him, as Caleb sneaked an arm around her waist and pulled her onto his side, kissing her temple. They were happy to see their son so happy as well, playing outside the house of their dreams which had finally become their own house. Hanna leaned into his embrace, enjoying the warmth of his body and his fresh cologne, until Liam called both of his parents to play with him. Caleb didn't need to hear it a second time as he took Hanna's hand in his and jogged toward the kid.

After building a snowman together, Caleb lied down on the ground on his back, and Liam repeated his gesture, giggling.

"Daddy, why we on the ground?" he asked then.

"Oh, you'll see. Do what I do, okay?" Caleb replied, grinning.

Liam nodded, then turned to Hanna, who was still standing there.

"Mommy down too!" he exclaimed, as she rolled her eyes but eventually obliged — she just couldn't say no to her son, she couldn't help it.

Caleb smiled over at her before spreading arms and legs on the snow.

"Now move your arms and legs just like me, c'mon." he said.

Liam repeated his gesture excitedly and Hanna did the same before Liam could argue with her.

"Okay. Now get up." Caleb ordered, offering one of his hands to Liam and the other to Hanna as they both got up.

Liam turned around and looked down at the three shapes now printed on the snow.

"That's mommy, daddy and Liam!" he exclaimed then, pointing to the ground.

"That's right, little man. But, look over there... We all have wings!" Caleb continued.

"Wings? Like grandma Ash?" Liam asked, remembering what Caleb had told him at the cemetery a few weeks earlier.

Hanna covered her mouth with her hand as she felt tears forming into her eyes. Caleb silently took her other hand in his again, interlacing their fingers and squeezing it.

"Exactly. We made angels. We have wings there. Grandma Ashley now actually looks like this." Caleb replied, nodding toward the shapes on the snow.

"Grandma Ash can fly?" Liam asked then, looking back at his dad.

"Sure. That's what wings are for. And that's how she follows us anywhere we go." Caleb smiled, winking at him.

"She here now?" the kid asked again.

"Of course she is. You can't see her, but she's right here with us." Caleb replied.

Then, he moved his and Hanna's joined hands over her shoulder in order to hug her as she threw herself to him.

"Why you cry, mommy?" Liam pouted then, confused.

She sniffed and shook her head, smiling over at him as Caleb wiped one of her tears away from her cheek with his free hand.

"It's nothing, baby. Mommy's just happy to be here with you, daddy...and grandma." she replied then, as Caleb kissed the top of her head.

"C'mon, little man... Come over here." he whispered then, spreading his free arm toward his son.

Liam happily ran to his parents, then they both engulfed him in a family hug as the snow slowly restarted falling from the sky.

* * *

The dinner at the Fitzs' had been nice. Aria had always been a great cook, and that night confirmed that. The dinner was now over, and Aria had already done the dishes and everything. Liam and Emma were now sitting on the floor in the middle of the living room, playing with some toys, as Hanna, Caleb, Aria and Ezra were settled on the couch, talking about everything and nothing. Hanna was sitting on Caleb's lap while Aria was cuddled up to Ezra's side.

"So... When are we gonna know the sex of baby Fitz number two?" Caleb asked casually, tightening his grasp around Hanna's waist.

"Well... We have to wait a little longer. Another eight weeks and something, I think." Aria replied, rubbing her invisible baby bump.

"Did you tell Emma?" Hanna asked, glancing over to where Liam and Emma were playing.

"Yep." Aria smiled.

"She wants a little sister." Ezra added, chuckling.

"Wow, man... If that's actually another girl, I really don't know how you're gonna deal with all of these women in your same house." Caleb laughed.

"I know, right? Be the only man in here?! I have an headache just at the thought!" Ezra replied, as Aria playfully smacked him on the arm.

"Will you two drop it?" Hanna muttered.

"Sorry, babe." Caleb whispered, kissing her cheek before tenderly resting his own cheek on her back.

"Ugh, you guys are so cheesy." Aria commented then.

Hanna smiled at her, shrugging slightly.

"You know, I have to be honest... It's on me. The truth is that ever since he got back from damn Spain, I'm having a really hard time to leave him alone, even if it's just for a sec." she added then, eventually turning to Caleb and smiling dreamily at him.

"I noticed... There's like a whole couch to sit on and you're sitting on his legs instead." Aria grinned.

"She's just stuck to me." Caleb said then, smiling back at Hanna before printing a soft peck on her lips.

"Can't help it." she sighed happily when their lips parted.

"So... Enough with me. Let's talk about you lovebirds. Look, I don't want to play the role of that annoying relative who never minds their own business, but... I really need to tell you this. Seriously, the more I look at you guys, the more you make me wonder what you're waiting for to give that angel of your son a sibling..." Aria began again.

Hanna and Caleb both smiled at that.

"Who knows? When it happens, it happens, I guess." he said then, shrugging slightly.

"Right." Hanna added, leaning back on Caleb's chest.

"So... You only drank water tonight because...'when it happens, it happens'?" Aria smirked toward Hanna.

Hanna laughed a little at her friend's facial expression before answering her.

"Pretty much."

"Well... We'll be really happy if there's gonna be another little one to play with Emma and our number two here. And I'm pretty sure Liam will be happy too." Ezra said then, protectively resting his hand on Aria's belly.

"Actually, we never talked about that possibility with him. It just...never came up." Caleb said, looking over at his son.

"There's no rush, man. But I told you, I'm positive he'd feel okay about it. He likes being with other kids, I noticed that at Emma's birthday party too." Ezra replied.

"Yeah, anyway there's no rush, Ezra's right. We can't talk with him about a little brother or sister until we're sure there actually is. I don't want him to start getting ideas and then get disappointed." Hanna said then.

"Agree. We told Emma just after being sure." Aria nodded, placing her hand on top of Ezra's, which was still resting on her belly.

"So that's what we're gonna do." Caleb concluded, placing a tender kiss on the back of Hanna's neck.

Right then, Liam and Emma ran to their respective parents, both stretching their arms forward to be picked up. Aria took Emma while Hanna took Liam, then they both got comfortable onto their moms' lap.

"Mommy, I know what I wanna for Christmas." Liam announced, smiling widely.

"Oh, yeah? And what is it, little man?" Hanna asked him, slightly tickling his tummy.

"I wanna little bwother." the kid replied.

Hanna was totally caught off guard. Caleb chuckled slightly behind her, giving her waist a squeeze before reaching out to mess Liam's hair.

"That's such a good present to ask for. How come you thought of it?" he asked his son then.

"Emma told me she will have a little sister. She said it's inside her mommy's tummy for now. I wanna little bwother. She said I had to ask my mommy and daddy. We could pway all together, daddy! I wanna!" Liam explained excitedly.

Caleb laughed.

"Yeah, we could. Well... Let's see what mommy and I can do. Anyways, you will have to wait after Christmas, little man. Before a baby comes to this world, well... It takes a little time." he added then.

"Okay, daddy." Liam nodded before cuddling to Hanna.

She smiled down at him and kissed the top of his head while rubbing his back soothingly.

"Hi, little sister!" Emma cooed then, turning around on Aria's lap to wave at her tummy.

Ezra rubbed his daughter's cheek before turning to Aria and kiss her lips, his hand still firmly resting on her belly. Hanna sighed happily at that sight as Caleb kissed her cheek.

"We're gonna have this baby, I promise." he whispered in her ear then.

* * *

**A/N: Hi guys! I updated today in honor to #1105, so... Happy Halebversary to you all :D First of all, I totally appreciated your comments for the previous chapter, seriously, I'm so happy it someway moved some of you :) I hope you appreciated this chapter too, though. I know nothing too special happened, but I find this very cute, plus I wanted to spoil you guys with a long, sweetness-filled chapter in a day like this, so... Let me know whether you appreciated or not, can't wait to know :) Next chapter will be sweet too, but it also has some bitterness... Anyway, I promise the ending of the story will NOT disappoint you eventually, at all, just trust me :D Once again, thanks for your reviews/follows/favorites, I'm always so happy when I notice the numbers grow and I can only say thank you for that :) Like I said, next chapter will be kind of bittersweet, but don't worry, Hanna and Caleb are in a really good place now, so... That's all that matters, right? So, if you leave a review you will make me very happy :) Happy Halebversary again, thank you guys for everything and have a nice weekend! Love you all! xx -Atramea.**


	30. Chapter 30

The following morning, the alarm went off pretty early. Caleb had an early morning shift to his dad's studio in San Diego. Since he had come back from Spain, he had restarted his previous job. Muttering some swearing words, he extended an arm toward his nightstand and blindly turned the alarm off with his hand.

"Fucking Monday..." he growled then, putting his arm back to where it was, around an half-asleep Hanna's waist.

"You need to get up, babe." she mumbled.

"No, I don't."

Hanna chuckled.

"C'mon, this is the last week before Christmas break. You can do this." she whispered then.

"Said the one who has to go to work at four in the afternoon." Caleb whispered back, sighing.

"Yeah, well... At that time you'll be going around boutiques to find the perfect suit for our wedding, so..."

"Whatever. I still don't wanna leave this bed." he muttered, half-yawning.

"Okay, so... Since you don't wanna get up and I need to pee, I'll go to the bathroom before you. But unlike you, I can go back to bed after that." she concluded, getting up from the bed as Caleb moaned in disapproval, immediately missing her body's heat under the blankets.

"Get naked and wait for me into the shower!" he called out jokingly before burying his face into the pillow.

Caleb waited a couple of minutes, but Hanna still hadn't gotten back. He then got up, stretching himself while walking to the bathroom. He knocked on the door.

"Babe? How long does this pee take?" he asked in front of the closed door.

No reply.

"Hanna? Everything okay in there?" he asked then, starting to get worried.

No reply again.

Caleb, then, decided to open the door. He slowly pulled the handle down, finding the door unlocked. He opened it and his gaze found Hanna, still sat on the toilet, with her underwear down to her ankles. She had her head between her hands as she seemed to stare at the floor. He furrowed his eyebrows as he walked over to her, worried.

"Babe, what's wrong?" he asked, kneeling down next to her.

"I... I got my period. I'm not pregnant." she murmured.

That's when Caleb spotted a small line of blood staining her underwear. He sighed and rubbed one of her thighs reassuringly.

"Hop in the shower now. I'm gonna bring you some clean stuff." he whispered after a moment of silence.

"No, it's fine. You need to go to work. I'm going to the other bathroom, I—" she tried to reply, but he cut her off.

"Don't worry. I'm still the boss' son, right? I'm a little late, I'll just give him a ring, it's not a big deal."

She nodded briefly, as a single tear fell from her left eye. Caleb caught it and then stroked her cheek.

"How about you take the day off, instead? You never did, besides when your mom passed away, but I really think you need it today." he continued.

She shook her head.

"No, if you're not home I prefer to go to work to keep myself busy." she added with decision.

Caleb pursed his lips and stayed silent for a second before replying.

"Then I'm taking the day off too."

"No, Caleb. That's not what I meant. I'm overreacting. It's not that much of a big deal. It's not necessary."

"It is. Now get in the shower." he repeated, standing up before taking her face in between his hands and printing a kiss on her forehead.

She sighed, knowing she couldn't make him change his mind then.

* * *

After she showered and got changed, she came back into the bedroom, where Caleb was sitting on the edge of the bed. She walked to him, and when she was close enough, he pulled her by the wrist on his lap, circling her waist.

"I wanted to take a test today, after work... I was actually starting to believe it. My late was probably due to the fact that I've been throughout some very stressful weeks, I guess." she murmured, looking down.

"We're gonna keep trying, okay? Don't worry." he whispered back, running his hand up and down her back reassuringly.

She sighed and shook her head.

"Caleb, I feel there's something wrong." she said then.

He furrowed his eyebrow as he replied.

"What do you mean?"

"It's a feeling, but I've been having it ever since we agreed I would stop having the pill. I don't know, I... I feel like I can't have babies."

"That's crazy, babe. We had Liam. Plus, we've been trying just for a little bit." he reasoned.

"Would you do something for me?" she looked down at him after a long moment of silence, biting her bottom lip.

"Anything."

"Will you come to the hospital with me?"

He narrowed his eyes.

"Hospital? Why would you go to the hospital?" he asked then.

"I want to do some tests, see if everything's okay. If we go now, you will be able to go looking for your suit in the afternoon. You may think I'm obsessed, but... You know, if they're gonna tell me that everything's okay, it'd really reassure me. And if they don't, well, at least we'd get to know the truth."

He pursed his lips and nodded briefly.

"Okay. If that would make you feel better, then let's do it." he said then.

"Really?"

"Yeah. But I'm gonna take some tests too. I mean, if there's actually something that doesn't work the way is supposed to work, well, it could be something inside me too. And so, you're gonna be one hundred percent sure that everything's okay and that the only thing we need to do is to make love more often." he smiled up at her.

She smiled back bending down slightly to kiss his lips.

"You're the best. Thank you." she whispered as soon as their lips parted.

"No problem. Now let me get dressed."

* * *

Hanna and Caleb went to the hospital and took some tests as they had decided. They also came back home in time to allow Caleb to go around to see some groom suits. They spent the following days planning together their wedding, finally setting a date and deciding some details.

A little less than a week later, Caleb got the response of his tests from the hospital. He was all healthy and had no problems with his fertility. A couple of days after that, he and Hanna received also a call from the hospital, which called Hanna there the following day to tell her the response of her tests. From that moment, she had started freaking out, saying that if they had called her to the hospital unlike Caleb, there was a specific reason. He had tried to comfort her, but, in all honesty, he was starting to worry too now.

* * *

The next morning they were both sitting in the hospital waiting room, waiting for someone to call Hanna in. Caleb had obviously wanted to come with her, and she was more than glad to have him there. She was awfully scared to get to know the truth, but on the other hand, she wanted to. He was silently holding her hand, absent-mindedly playing with her engagament ring, and she could feel his concern as well, even though he was doing his best to comfort and reassure her. When a yawn escaped from his lips, though, she couldn't help but smile. It was rather early, and Caleb had spent the whole previous night comforting her while she freaked out, so neither of them got enough sleep.

"Tired?" she asked quietly, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Just a little." he smiled down at her.

"It was my fault. And you shouldn't even have come here this morning... I'm sorry if I pulled you into this."

He chuckled and shook his head.

"You have nothing to apologize for. Plus, this is about both of us. You know I won't ever leave you alone, whatever it is." he added then, quietly not to disturb anyone.

She gave a small nod and smiled as he placed a small kiss on the side of her head, her hand still into his.

"Hanna Marin?" a doctor finally called.

Hanna jumped off her seat, dragging Caleb up with her by their linked hands. They made their way down the short hallway and followed the doctor into a room, as he closed the door behind them. Once inside, the couple was asked by the man to take a seat across his desk, and then they were finally ready to know. Hanna was holding Caleb's hand so tightly that his knuckles were turning almost completely white.

"So... I'm doctor Brad Weger, it's nice to meet you both." the doctor began politely, holding his hand out across the desk.

Hanna and Caleb introduced themselves and shook the doctor's hand. Then, the man cleared his throat, quickly re-analyzing some papers.

"So, miss Marin... You did these tests last week, right?" he asked then, scratching his chin.

"Right." she murmured, pursing her lips.

"Well... I guess you imagine that if we asked you to come, something's..._not _in the ordinary." the doctor continued, lifting his gaze to look at Hanna.

Hanna swallowed as Caleb bit his lip, but quickly gave his fiancé a soothing hand-squeeze before gaining the doctor's attention with a direct question.

"What does that mean, exactly?"

Doctor Weger linked his own hands together as he looked from Hanna to Caleb.

"You said you already have a kid, right?" he asked then.

"Yes. Our son is born a little more than two years ago." Caleb confirmed.

The older man nodded slowly before turning to Hanna.

"The results of your tests, miss Marin, clearly leads me to think that yours is a case of secondary infertility." he announced then.

_Secondary infertility_.

_Infertility_.

That word hurt Hanna like a stab.

"What... What is that?" Caleb asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

The doctor cleared his throat and began explaining.

"Miss Marin's ultrasound evidenced an endometriosis. Endometriosis happens when pieces of the uterus lining, which is the endometrium, end up growing where they shouldn't. In this case, they grew in the fallopian tubes. These pieces are basically blocking them, that's why miss Marin can't get pregnant, at least not at the moment. Obviously, she didn't have them when she first got pregnant. They formed themselves later."

Caleb pursed his lips and didn't dare to cross Hanna's gaze. He was almost feeling guilty for reassuring her.

"Do we have any...chances?" Caleb asked softly.

"Well... We should probably do some further exams, but this seems a case of mild endometriosis, so I'd suggest flushing out the blocked fallopian tubes to improve chances of a successful pregnancy. This procedure is an alternative to surgery, but surgery is usually more effective. I know it's a more invasive process, but women with mild endometriosis are more likely to become pregnant after surgery. The best chance of conceiving is in the year following the surgery. If you wait any longer, you'll probably find that the endometriosis comes back. What I'm trying to say is that... Endometriosis can cause secondary infertility, but this is not always an actual infertility. And in miss Marin's case, there's something that can be done. However, I have to be completely honest... I can't say that you will have another baby. I hope you will, but I can't guarantee you anything, I'm sorry. Each case is different, and each woman reacts her own way. Besides, you have to know that pregnancies after an endometriosis are usually harder than normal ones, if there are. Let's say that they're more..._risky_, that's it." the doctor replied.

Caleb chewed on his lower lip as he slowly turned to Hanna, whose gaze was low and totally lost. She was like frozen.

"The choice is yours, miss Marin. You can choose to have surgery, or you can choose to try the flushing out of the blocked tubes. But you can also choose not to do anything at all. But clearly, the tubes won't unblock by themselves. If you really want another baby, you should operate, one way or another." doctor Weger added.

Caleb understood that Hanna wasn't going to say a single word, so he cleared his throat and turned back to the doctor.

"May we go now? I guess we'll need to...talk about this." he said then.

"Of course. Call me whenever you feel ready." the doctor smiled at the pair, even if Hanna's gaze was still lost.

Caleb basically dragged Hanna up with him, smiling politely at the doctor who handed him his business card. He took it from him and walked outside of the studio, holding Hanna's hand tightly. Then, once they turned the first corner of the hallway, he forced her to look up at him, lifting her chin with his pointer finger.

"Babe, hey... Look at me. It's okay." he whispered, raising his eyebrows.

Her tears-filled eyes finally met his ones, and she shook her head.

"It's not. We can't have any more babies. And that's because of me." she murmured then.

"It's not your fault, okay? Plus you heard the doctor, the situation is not that bad, we could have some chances, but... You know what? We've always said that we're already happy like this. And I mean it. We already have an awesome son who's a beautiful, sweet, good and smart kid, so I'm telling you, I have absolutely nothing to complain. _We_ have nothing to complain. I know that we would have liked other children, of course we would, but... What I'm trying to say is that it's fine anyways. This will only make us stronger, Hanna. Look at us... Liam, you and I. We're a family. We're healthy. You and I are getting married, our family is full of love. I'm not gonna let this little inconvenience ruin all of this. We've been through so much, this is just another bump in the road that we, as always, are going to pass. Now we're going home, we're doing our Christmas tree with our son, and then we're setting the last things for our wedding. Alright?"

She just stayed silent, so he pulled her into his arms, engulfing her body in a warm tight hug. He felt her give in to her tears, so he kissed the top of her head and, putting his arm around her shoulders, he finally led her outside of the hospital.

* * *

Caleb watched Hanna for the whole day. He was so thankful that Liam had the power to always lighten her mood up, so when he saw that his son managed to make Hanna smile a couple of times while doing the Christmas tree, he couldn't feel prouder of him.

When the day finally came to an end and Hanna tucked Liam in, she just asked Caleb if they could go to bed as well. She probably just needed that day to come to an end. He obviously didn't argue, even though it was way earlier than their usual bedtime. They stripped to their underwears and put something more comforable on, Hanna going for Caleb's black sweater while he just put on an undershirt, and then they finally slipped under the blankets of their bed. She cuddled to his chest and he pulled her close, gently stroking her hair.

"I'm gonna have surgery." she whispered out of the blue.

They hadn't really talked about what the doctor had told them that morning, but he didn't expect that. He pulled back slightly in order to make eye-contact with her and replied.

"Babe, we should take some time before taking such a decision."

"There's nothing to decide, Caleb. If I have even just the tiniest of the possibilities of having a baby, I have to try. You heard the doctor, my tubes aren't going to unblock by themselves."

"Hanna... It's still a surgery. It's something serious. Just... Think about it."

"I want this baby, okay? And I know you want it too. I remember how dreaming your voice sounded when you first came back from Spain and told me that the time away from home had made you realize that you wanted your family to grow. I remember your smile when I told you that I could've been pregnant a few weeks ago. You don't know how I feel right now, it's like... It's like someone told me that I'm half a woman now. It's horrible. But if there's a chance, I have to fight. I _will_ fight. For me, for you, for our family. For what we want. I'm not going to give up. We want another baby, why do we have to renounce to this? I thought about what you told me at the hospital, and... Look, God knows how thankful I am to have Liam, and I know I'm so lucky to have already a son in my life... It's not like I want another baby because he's not enough for me or because I'm not happy with just the two of you. I want another baby right because Liam's so beautiful and amazing and wonderful that I'd like to have thousand like him. Because there's so much love in this family that can be shared with other children too. Why do I just have to—"

Caleb saw the tears into her eyes and hugged her before she could finish. She started crying again, just like that morning at the hospital, and he tenderly rubbed his hands up and down her back to comfort her as her whole body shook.

She was right. They didn't have anything to complain, that was true, but why did they have to give up so easily on something that they truly wanted?

He was just wondering why she had to go through that much. First their couple problems —luckily solved—, then his departure, then her mom's loss, now this... _Why?_

He knew he was marrying a very strong and brave girl, and if she wanted to fight, then he would fight with her.

"You're so brave, babe... So so brave..." he whispered through her hair.

After a minute, she seemed to calm down, so she slowly pulled away and looked up at him with her red puffy eyes. He smiled tenderly at her and pulled a strand of her hair behind her right ear.

"You could be with someone who can give you kids." she murmured.

He chuckled.

"Babe... You already gave me one and he's my whole life. And guess what? I want to be with you and only you." he said then, massaging her nape.

"Aria told me that Ezra told her that in the boutique where you went to try suits on works one of your ex-girlfriends." she blurted out.

He rolled his eyes. Ezra sucked to keep things from his wife, who obviously sucked to keep things from her bestfriend.

"She's not one of my ex-girlfriends, we just slept together once and it was something like...six or seven years ago? Hanna, I was an idiot at that time. If she didn't recognize me and tell me her name was Caroline, I wouldn't even have noticed. I only had a girlfriend in my life, who has now become my fiancé and will soon be my wife." he explained then, eventually lifting her left hand where her engagement ring was sparkling.

"You could get back together with her. She can have babies for sure."

He sighed and cupped her face in between his palms.

"Hanna... Stop it. You just said you want to fight to have another baby, right? Well, if that's what we're really gonna do, this is not the right attitude. And, look, I love you and I want to be with you whether we'll be able to have other babies or not. We're a family, you said it. I won't ever leave you alone. Just... Remember that. Don't doubt about it, not even for a second. I'm serious." he whispered gently.

She sighed, looking deeply into his eyes before finally nodding. He nodded back, then leaned in and kissed her gently.

"I love you." he repeated then.

"I love you too."

"Well, now try to think about the amazing Christmas you, Liam and I are gonna spend all together and the epic wedding we're planning, okay? No bad thoughts. We'll discuss about everything related to this morning when we get to the new year. You have my word. But now...let's just enjoy our holidays, yeah?"

"Okay."

"That's my girl. And... One last thing before sleeping... Give me a smile." he grinned.

Hanna rolled her eyes but eventually made a small smile, as he stroked her cheeks. He leaned in and kissed her once again. When he pulled away, she blinked at him before whispering something.

"Thank you."

"It's okay, babe. Now let's get some sleep."

Hanna nodded briefly before adjusting against his warm body. He took her into his arms and, as they whispered each other goodnight, he truly hoped that his words were gonna help her feel at least a little better.

* * *

**A/N: Sooo... That's it. I hope you guys are not hating me since you all seemed to —of course— want Hanna pregnant... And, I feel pretty sad to tell you, but the next chapter's gonna be the last one, BUT as I already told you it's not actually the very last one. After that, I'm gonna write an epilogue and then an extra chapter, which will actually be the last one. So, you know, even if we're getting to the end...the story is NOT over yet ;) A lot can happen in three chapters, right? :P However... I hope you appreciated this chapter despite everything, I mostly wanted to show how much love Caleb has for Hanna and how he wants to be there for her every step of the way, whatever the situation is. Anyway, get ready for the wedding... You may see it in the next chapter...or maybe later? Who knows? :P Again, there's still something in store for you in this story, so just wait for it... I'm sure you'll be happy with the ending I planned since the very beginning of this story ;) As always, I want to thank you all for the support you've been showing for this story as well, and I'm happy you enjoyed last chapter :) I hope you let me know your thoughts about this one, and I also give you a good news: the new chapter of GoW is almost ready, it should be up in days :) That's all. Enjoy tonight's PLL special and have a nice week :) Love you all! xx -Atramea.**


	31. Chapter 31

"So... How are you feeling?" Aria asked as she took a seat on the chair next to Hanna's hospital bed.

The blonde sighed, propping herself up with her elbows, as Aria helped her to put the pillow behind her in order to be more comfortable.

"A bit tired, but okay. I still feel some tingling down _there_, but it's nothing I can't handle." she replied then, resting her hands on her own belly.

A few months had passed since Hanna had found out about her infertility, and now, the previous day, she had had surgery to unblock her tubes, hoping to be able to conceive again. She and Caleb had eventually decided it was the best thing to do, refusing to give up. They had also moved to their new house, just a couple of weeks earlier, and they totally loved it.

"Well, speaking about good things... In less than two months, you're gonna be a married woman. Joining the 'mrs' club." Aria smirked at her friend.

Hanna rolled her eyes, snorting.

"I'm sure I'm gonna lose weight after this shit, so I'm gonna need to fix the wedding dress. Planning is so freaking stressful." she muttered then.

"I know the feeling, but it will be worth it. Caleb is worth it." her friend smiled.

Hanna mirrored that smile. Aria was right. Caleb was definitely worth it. If it hadn't been for his closure and support throughout the whole preparation for surgery and the surgery itself, not to mention how great he had been with the things for the wedding, she would have never been there right then.

"Yeah... I guess you're right." she sighed then, looking down at her engagement ring — she had been wearing it for a long time by now, but it always made her heart flutter, and she loved it everyday more...just like Caleb.

"Hey, babe. I brought you some mozzarella sticks." Caleb announced as he entered the room, carrying a paper bag.

Hanna smiled widely seeing him, then he walked to the bed and bent down to press a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Where's Liam?" she asked when he pulled away.

"He's outside with Jess, playing hide and seek, I think." he chuckled.

Hanna giggled, then Aria got up.

"I gotta go now, guys. Need to pick Emma up from one of her friend's." she said, grabbing her purse.

"You sure? I bought enough of these to share." Caleb smiled at her, nodding down at the paper bag in his hands.

"Thanks, Caleb, but I really need to go. I'll come back later, sweetie." Aria replied before bending down toward Hanna, quickly kissing her cheek.

"Alright, see you later. And get some rest, for you and for your little guy in there." the blonde replied, smiling.

Caleb kissed Aria's cheek too before bending down toward her belly.

"Bye-bye, little squirrel." he whispered, gently rubbing his hand over Aria's shirt.

The brunette smiled widely at him before leaving the room. Then, he pulled the chair closer to Hanna's bed and sat down, placing the paper bag on the bedside table before holding out a hand to her, who immediately took it in between her two.

"How are you? Does it still hurt?" he asked gently.

She lightly shook her head, smiling softly at him as she played with his fingers.

"No, it's okay now. I just feel some slight tingling." she replied then.

"Good. Are you tired?"

"Just a little."

Caleb raised his free hand and brought it to her face, gently moving a few strands of her hair off her forehead.

"Maybe you should sleep a little longer." he suggested, stroking his thumb over her cheek.

She moaned in disapproval and shook her head.

"No, I don't wanna sleep. Can you just come here?" she pleaded then, letting go of his hand to pat the mattress next to her side.

He chuckled and nodded, then he sat on the bed next to her and pulled her into his side, kissing her head. Hanna nuzzled her face against his shoulder and placed her hand on his waist, slipping two fingers into one of the belt loops of his dark jeans.

"Much better." she mumbled then, as he delicately started stroking her hair.

Then, he turned his head slightly and grabbed the paper bag with his free hand, placing it on his lap.

"C'mon, take one." he offered to her as he took one stick for himself.

Hanna gladly obeyed, tasting finally something better than the hospital food she had had in the past couple of days. They ate together until the bag was empty, then they simply stayed there, silently cuddling. That was until a doctor showed up on the doorframe, smiling at the couple.

"Hey, miss Marin. Feeling better today, right?" the man asked.

"Yeah, definitely. Thank you, doctor Greenwall." Hanna replied, smiling back.

"Anytime. I'll come back later to check your values. Don't make any efforts." the doctor continued.

Hanna nodded and then the doctor disappeared. Caleb groaned in disapproval and she giggled.

"Stop it, dummy. You can't be pissed at him because he—" she began then, but he cut her off.

"Fuck, just...don't say that. I should be the only one allowed to see _that_ much of you. Plus he's always around, making all of these cheesy smiles at you... I don't know what the fuck is running through that stupid mind of his. Didn't he see your freaking ring? And, did you notice that he didn't even say hello to me? He's just a douche, ugh. This kind of surgery should be only done by other women, that's it. I'm against the system."

She laughed before pressing a kiss to his jawline.

"I love when you're jealous." she whispered then, stroking his jeans-clad thigh.

He bent his head down and looked at her, rolling his eyes as she grinned up at him. Then, she leaned in and smashed her lips against his, opening her mouth and urging him to pull his tongue in. He did so, cupping her nape to get the right angle as she took in his hard kiss. She slipped two of her fingers into his shirt, taking advantage of the open spaces between its buttons, feeling the warm skin of his abs underneath her fingertips. Caleb moaned and pulled away, lifting her chin and looking intensely into her eyes.

"How long?" he whispered biting his bottom lip.

"How long what?"

"How long will we have to wait before..._you know_."

Hanna bit her bottom lip as well.

"Around two weeks." she murmured.

"Shit..." he muttered then.

"I know." she sighed in agreement, cuddling back into his side.

He began stroking her hair once again, then she said something else.

"But maybe even a week is gonna be enough, they told me it's just to prevent that I feel pain while doing it, and—"

He cut her off.

"Babe, it's okay. If we make love, it has to be a pleasure. And I don't want to risk to hurt you in any way, so we will wait. It's alright."

Hanna smiled at his answer, then they fell into a couple of minutes of comfortable silence before she broke it.

"Let's hope that it's gonna work, at least."

Caleb sighed, leaving a kiss somewhere through her hair.

"Whether it works or not, we will have no regrets. Besides, in less than two months we'll get married. I guess we have a reason to be happy anyways." he told her gently.

Hanna didn't have a chance to reply because Liam bursted into the room.

"Mommy!" he exclaimed, climbing on bed with his parents.

Jess also appeared on the doorway, smiling over at the kid.

"Hi, baby!" Hanna exclaimed, hugging tightly her son.

"Where have you been, little man?" Caleb asked, stroking the back of the kid's head.

"Pwaying with auntie Jessie." Liam told them, smiling.

"We had a lot of fun. But then he said he wanted mommy and daddy, so..." Jess continued from the doorway.

"So that's another huge reason to be happy." Caleb told Hanna, kissing her temple as she smiled up at him.

"Thanks for watching him, Jess." the blonde said then, turning toward her fiancé's sister.

"It's always nice to spend time with him. I just gonna get coffee now, if that's okay, though." she replied.

"Sure." Caleb and Hanna said at the same time.

Jess left the room, as Caleb and Hanna kissed Liam all over his face and a fit of giggles came out of the kid's mouth.

They definitely had reasons to be happy anyways.

* * *

_**Two months later...**_

"Jesus, Hanna, you're... Oh, my God, I'm just... I can't." Aria sniffed as she wiped her tears away.

Hanna was standing in front of her, in her wonderful wedding dress. It had a straight neckline and no shoulder straps. Her silhouette fit perfectly in the whole white cloth, hugging her body in all the right places. Her hair was tied up in an elaborate curly hairstyle, and her make up was light but very bright.

She walked to Aria and hugged her tightly.

"Why are you crying, silly?" she whispered into her friend's ear, although she knew she was crying too.

"You're just...gorgeous."

Hanna laughed and pulled away, wiping some other tears off Aria's cheek.

"Thank you, and you're a wonderful bridesmaid too, but stop now or you're gonna ruin all of your make-up. I know it's waterproof, but still..." she said then, holding both of Aria's hands in hers.

"Thank you, but you're... Look, Caleb's just gonna pass out, believe me."

"Jeez, I hope not... After all we went through to get here!" the blonde laughed then.

Aria giggled before letting go of Hanna's hands.

"Okay, well... The car should be here any second, so... I'll see you in church." she said then, smiling largely at her friend.

"Alright." Hanna mumbled as she hugged Aria again, still not realizing that the day of her wedding was finally there.

Aria and her evident baby bump left the room, then Hanna turned back to the mirror to look at her reflection for the nth time. She smiled at herself. She was marrying Caleb, the love of her life. She couldn't be happier. She sighed, waiting for the car with her dad to come and pick her up to take her to the church, but after a minute someone knocked on her door. She went to open it and found in front of herself the last person she thought she would see.

_Alison DiLaurentis_.

Hanna froze. She hadn't seen her in ages.

"Hanna Marin... Wow, you look...amazing." Alison began, looking at her from head to toe.

"Alison, what... What are you doing here? How did you know where I live? What the hell do you want?"

"Relax, Han. I knew Caleb would get married today from a few people who worked with us in Spain, and knowing he would marry you, I didn't wanna miss it. I don't live far from here, so I just thought I could come and take a look."

"Well, you were not invited though, so—" Hanna snapped, trying to close the door on Alison's face, but she stopped her.

"Hanna, please, wait."

Hanna sighed and opened the door again, crossing her arms over her chest. Then, Alison continued.

"I guess Caleb told you what happened in Spain and all the CeCe thing, and I'm sorry about that. I really am. It was very childish of me, plus I had no right to do that. But, you know, I didn't know your soon-to-be-husband was so loyal and so in love with you, and I couldn't predict that CeCe would take a crush on him either, so... I mean, I have to recognize that I failed. Anyways, if I'm here today is just to apologize and to see this wedding."

Hanna raised an eyebrow at her.

"Again, you were _not_ invited. Besides, an actress like you doesn't have anything better to do on a Sunday morning instead of coming to an old _friend_'s_,_ who even works as a simple shop assistant, wedding?" she snapped at her.

Alison grinned.

"You're so different from the Hanna I remember." she said then.

"Yeah, I know... I'm not your doll anymore. Look, I'm marrying the man I love today, and I'm not letting you ruin this day like you ruined half of my teenager period. So, I don't know what you were expecting to get here today, but... You should just go away, Ali. Leave me, Caleb and our family alone. And don't ever intrude in my life again."

Alison sighed and smiled again before shrugging.

"Okay, whatever. I'll leave. Just give my congratulations to Caleb as well. It was nice to see you again." she said then before finally walking away.

"Likewise." Hanna muttered ironically as she watched the other blonde go.

* * *

Caleb stood at the end of the aisle, nervously playing with the end of his suit sleeves.

He was getting married.

He was marrying Hanna.

If someone had told him that he would get married just five years earlier, he would have died because of the laughter. And yet there he was, waiting for his gorgeous bride-to-be and anxious like hell.

He looked around himself.

He saw Ezra explaining to Liam for the nth time how to walk to the end of the aisle to give his daddy the wedding rings. He smiled, he was so glad his son would do that. He was so proud of him.

He saw his mom and sister sitting in the front row of pews, all smiley. Jess was currently getting her camera ready not to miss any moment of the ceremony.

He saw his dad too, sitting in the opposite pew of Claudia and Jess, but he was just glad to have him there that day, despite their little misunderstandings.

Suddenly, he felt someone tugging at his suit pants and, looking down, he saw Liam smiling up at him, handing him the piece of silk in where the rings were wrapped.

"Liam brings rings! Liam brings rings to mommy and daddy!" he sang.

Caleb smiled and went to his knees.

"That's right, little man. But you have to bring them later, okay? Look, mommy's not here yet. Go back to Ezra now, he's gonna tell you when you have to come here to bring the rings, alright? Just listen to him." he explained the kid, taking advantage of the moment to fix his little tie.

"Okay, daddy. But when mommy coming?" Liam asked.

Caleb sighed, stroking his son's cheek.

"I hope soon. Now go back to sit next to Emma." he told him softly.

Liam nodded and obliged, so Caleb stood back up and instinctively glanced at Ezra, who just gave him a wink.

_God, why was Hanna taking so long?_

He rubbed his hand all over his own face, feeling himself sweating. He hadn't figured the waiting would be so stressful. At some point, Ezra came up to him with a glass of water.

"Relax, man. She must be on her way, just like my wife. I was freaking out too when I was here a few years ago, so... I know the feeling. Just relax, though. At the end of the day, you will have lived the best day of your life. Try to think about it." he told him then, handing him the glass and smiling.

Caleb sighed and accepted the water, drying out the glass in just a sip before giving it back to Ezra.

"Thanks, man." he mumbled then.

Ezra gave him a pat on the shoulder before coming back to his place of groomsman.

To be honest, beside being nervous and anxious, Caleb also missed Hanna. The fact that they had had to spend the previous night in separate places had kind of driven him crazy. Maybe it was ridicolous, but since they had started living together years and years ago, and more specifically, since he had gotten back from Spain, he was having some serious problems to sleep without her in his bed, even just for one night.

At least, that would be their last night parted.

Then, suddenly, the wedding song started playing into the church. Caleb gulped, feeling his heart becoming bigger and bigger as he eagerly turned around to the entry of the church. And he could swear it became bigger than himself and the whole world when he finally saw Hanna, dressed in her beautiful wedding dress and with a bright smile plastered on her face. Tom was by her side, with her hand wrapped around his arm, and Aria was a few steps away from her, being the bridesmaid.

Caleb had tried to picture how Hanna would look that day so many times, also picturing how exactly that moment would be, when he would see her and everything, but no one of the ideas that had come up to his mind throughout those months got close to what it really was.

Hanna looked so beautiful that he had absolutely no words to describe her. She was...a goddess, a venus. Honestly, if someone had asked him how she looked right then, he would have just said 'beautiful', probably, because he really couldn't find a proper word to give the idea, so he would have just used the corniest one.

A smile crossed his face as he replayed in his head the only thing he could think at that moment.

_She's beautiful._

And then he realized that they were actually there, in a church, ready to choose each other for the eternity, after all that had happened. That's why his smile grew even more, just when _that_ other thought crossed his mind.

_She's mine._

* * *

**A/N: Well... Yeah, this is supposed to be the end of the last chapter of this story. My choice not to describe the wedding but just stop at the moment of Hanna's entrance into the church was because I wanted to leave you with that image in your head. I think that the look the future husband has on his face when he turns around and sees his future wife dressed as a bride, is the most emotional moment of the whole wedding, so I just felt like it was right to stop there :) Besides, there are plenty stories where Hanna and Caleb get married and there are vows and everything, so I figured my story could just stop here, instead... However, I hope you appreciated it :) So, my sincere apologize for the time you had to wait as always, anyways I hope you all enjoyed the chapter :) Yeah, Aria is expecting a little boy and Hanna had surgery, also Hanna and Caleb moved to the new house and now they're also —and finally!— married :) So they made it, didn't they? ;) And... What about Ali's appearance? I hope you liked that little exchange, I wanted them to meet after everything that happened with her, Caleb and CeCe in Spain, and I also thought that Hanna's absolute indifference in front of her was the best reaction. So... Again, I hope you all will have a positive opinion on this final chapter. Seriously, though, you guys are really really sweet and totally make me smile, especially when you write that you can't deal with this story ending, haha :P That's why I remind you all that this is the last chapter, yep, but you're gonna have an epilogue and a very last extra chapter before the story actually ends, so... Don't be sad :D Also, I almost finished writing the new explosive Hanna vs Melissa chapter of Glasses of Wine, so don't be sad at all haha :P You will have it soon, I promise :) Well, then... As always, I want to thank you all for your amazing support, I hope you enjoyed this crazy ride we did together just like the other ones, and I hope to hear from you what you think, as usual. You guys are the best and without you my stories wouldn't be what they are :) A surprise for you is coming in the epilogue! :) Looking forward to reading your thoughts! Love you all! xx -Atramea.**


	32. Chapter 32

_**Epilogue**_

"No, mommy. I can't see it." four years old Liam whined.

Hanna sighed.

"Alright, it doesn't matter. But that's a head, little man. I swear it is." she smiled then.

Liam looked confused, giving one more look to the weird black and white picture his mommy was holding before climbing off the couch to reach his toy cars on the floor. Hanna smiled looking from him to what she had in her hands.

Both of them heard a key noise coming from the entrance of the house, so Liam jumped on his feet immediately, knowing what was coming next.

"Daddy!" he squealed, running to the front door just when it swung open.

Caleb smiled widely and kicked the door closed behind his back before placing his briefcase on the floor and picking his son up, almost throwing him in the air and then hugging him.

"Hi, little man!" he laughed, never getting used to Liam's excitement everytime he came home.

Then, he gave him a kiss on the side of his head before placing him back on his feet. Liam ran back to his toys as Caleb took his briefcase and placed it on the table of the living room. He took his jacket off and loosened his tie before finally approaching Hanna, who was still lying on the couch. She made a move to lean upward and kiss him, but he stopped her and bent down himself, kissing her lips tenderly.

"Hi." Hanna smiled when they parted.

"Hi, babe." he smiled back.

She pulled him back to her to kiss him once again, then Caleb plopped on the couch next to her. He bent his head down and placed a kiss on her very pregnant belly before resting his hand there, rubbing circles through her over-sized I Love NY grey hoodie.

"Hi, daddy's little princess." he whispered gently.

Hanna looked down and smiled widely, bringing one of her hands through his locks to gently stroke his hair as he repeatedly kissed her baby bump. When he was finally satisfied, he pulled himself up and noticed the picture of her last ultrasound in her hands and slighly rolled his eyes.

"Again?" he asked, not containing a grin.

Hanna shrugged, grinning back at him.

"He asked me to show him her head, but he still can't see it. I think he's losing it." she giggled then.

Caleb chuckled, looking over at Liam.

"Little man, you can't see little sister's head, can you?" he asked then.

"No, daddy. I can't." the kid muttered, not moving his attention to the couch, still focused on his cars.

"Well then, come over here. Daddy will show you." Caleb smiled.

"No, daddy. I can't see it." Liam insisted.

Caleb laughed slightly before getting up from the couch to pick Liam up, bringing him to the couch and settling him on his lap, as they took their seat next to Hanna.

"Alright... See this grey thing here? Like a cloud?" he gently asked his son, pointing to a specific angle of the picture.

Liam nodded, all focused on the figure his mommy was holding.

"Good. Now move your eyes over here... This is like a little ball, isn't it? You see?" Caleb continued, moving his finger over the small ultrasound picture.

"Yes. It's a baloon." Liam commented.

"Well, actually that's your little sister's head." Caleb laughed, kissing his head.

"I saw it!" the kid screamed when he realized he had finally pinpointed what he couldn't see earlier.

"That's right, little man! Give me five!" Caleb exclaimed, holding out a hand for Liam.

The kid slammed his little hand against his daddy's bigger one before returning to focus on the picture.

"So little sister is in mommy's tummy?" he asked then, moving his gaze to Hanna's eight months pregnant belly.

"Yeah, baby. She's right inside here." Hanna replied, taking Liam's hand and placing it against her swollen stomach.

"You were there too, you know?" Caleb asked him then.

"I don't remember." Liam replied, shaking his head.

"Yeah, but you really were." Hanna smiled gently at him as he yawned.

"Gosh, looks like someone's feeling tired here, huh?" Caleb said, stroking his son's hair.

Liam grunted and buried his face into Caleb's chest.

"And is really grouchy too." Hanna laughed then, stroking Liam's head.

"What about I'll take you to bed and I'll read you something? You choose." Caleb suggested to the kid.

Liam just nodded briefly, so Caleb continued.

"Alright. Say goodnight to mommy and little sister, c'mon."

Liam reemerged from Caleb's arms to kiss Hanna on the lips, then he rubbed his little hand on her belly.

"Night, mommy and sister." he mumbled before rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Goodnight, baby." Hanna smiled, giving his son another kiss on the cheek.

Caleb got up, taking Liam with him before turning to Hanna.

"I'll be right back." he smiled down at her.

* * *

Around fifteen minutes later, Caleb came back downstairs, barefoot and changed into a simple tee and his pj pants.

"He's out like a light." he grinned, climbing on the couch next to Hanna.

She smiled back at him before cuddling to his side, as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head.

"So... How did it go today? Any pain? Or..._kicks_?" he asked, chuckling at the end and resting his free hand on her baby bump.

She put her hand on top of his, playing with his gold wedding ring and nuzzling her face into his neck as she mumbled an answer.

"Just little kicks this afternoon, but she's been good."

He kissed her temple as she breathed in his scent, then she said something else.

"I'm gonna cook something to you."

"No, babe, I'm fine. My dad buy me something to eat just outside work."

"You sure? I can stay on my feet, you know."

He chuckled and lifted her chin to kiss the tip of her nose.

"I know. It's just not necessary." he whispered then.

"Okay."

"What about you? Need a footrub?"

"No, I'm fine. I just need to be like this." she murmured as she readjusted against his warm body.

Caleb smiled as he slowly stroked her bump.

"You know, I couldn't wait to come home today. I missed you, Liam and her... I just needed to be like this too." he whispered then.

Hanna looked up at him and smiled widely.

"Really?" she asked, moving a hand to cup his cheek.

"Really." he nodded, smiling back.

She leaned in and kissed his lips, slowly and gently. He moved both of his hands to her waist and pulled her on his lap as he kissed back. After a minute, he pulled away and pulled his shirt over his own head and then threw it behind the couch, as she giggled.

"I don't know why you put it on in the first place." she commented, as he delicately slipped his hands underneath her hoodie.

"Neither do I." he shrugged as he slowly and carefully started pulling her hoodie upwards.

Hanna helped him to get her outside of it, then he tossed it away and smiled at the sight of her bare belly. He lowered his head and left another kiss there before lifting it to resume his make-out session with Hanna. His hands went up to cup her breasts, definitely grown given she was in the last month of her pregnancy. Her belly, though, was starting to be a little bulky between them, not allowing them to move the way they wanted to.

"Wait..." Hanna mumbled as he started nibbling at her neck.

Caleb stopped, so she got up and quickly got rid of her sweats and underwear, as he did the same behind her. He bit her lip as soon as he lifted his gaze and saw her very naked ass, but she soon turned around and smiled at him. She approached him and lowered her head to kiss him once again before turning around again, giving her back at him. She straddled his thighs and sat on his lap, trapping his member between her back and his abdomen. Caleb sighed as he settled his hands on her sides, letting his fingers hang over her baby bump, and placed a soft kiss on her bare shoulder. She sighed too and titled her head back against his chest before lifting her hips for him. One of his hands left his grasp on her hip to place his erection at her entrance. Then, he moved his hand back to where it was, encouraging her to lower her body on his.

It was then that their bodies finally connected, as they both moaned. Caleb's hands moved up her body to cup each of her breasts again, squeezing them as he slowly kissed down from the side of her neck to her collarbone. Hanna took a moment to close her eyes and focus on the feeling of his lips against her skin before starting to move. She lifted her hips and then lowered them again, moving up and down, slowly and gently. He didn't move, wanting her to set the pace the way she wanted to, just keeping to kiss and suck her neck as he massaged her breasts. She moaned as she kept moving up and down, using her hands on his thighs as a lever, while he moved his hands back to her hips to follow her pace. He felt himself sliding in and out of her, and not much longer, he also started to feel the pleasure built rapidly grow inside of him, so he finally started raising his hips to meet hers halfway. That made Hanna feel the same, so she spontaneously speeded up her pace, now almost bouncing up and down his lap. He moaned, moving one of his hands to her breast once again, playing with her nipple as he kept accompanying her pace with his other hand. The flesh of her soft rounded ass smashed against his crotch over and over again, faster and faster as she kept going, and both of their breathings became heavier and heavier. She let her head fall back against his shoulder at some point, feeling close to her peak, so he kissed her cheek and began moving his hips in a circular way as well to create new angles.

"I'm going to come..." she whispered breathlessy shortly after.

Caleb moved the hand which was resting on her hip lower, rubbing two of his fingers against her clit as they both kept moving their hips, almost franctically by now.

"Let it go, baby..." he whispered in her ear, because he knew he wouldn't last much longer either.

One of her hands left its place on his thigh so that her arm could sneak around his neck and her hand could tangle into his short hair, pulling him closer to her as he kept kissing her where he could and kept working on her centre with his fingers. Hanna started shaking against him, then she squeezed her eyes shut and buried her fingernails into his thigh as she tugged at his hair with her other hand, letting out a moan which was stuck into her throat. She came all over him, her walls thightened hard around his member and started twitching, following her fast heartbeat. She had stopped moving her hips, so Caleb delicately raised her exhausted body with the help of his arms one last time before meeting it halfway, thrusting himself upwards, and moaned into her ear when he finally emptied himself inside her core.

Caleb fell back on the couch, exhausted, but managed not to fall completely holding both his and Hanna's weights on his elbows. They breathed in and out, trying to regolarize the pace of their lungs and hearts. After a minute, he moved one of his hands up to rest on her cheek, turning her head to him and kissing her gently on the lips.

"You're amazing... I love you." he whispered, still a little panting.

She smiled weakly at him, running her hand through his locks.

"I love you too." she whispered back.

After a good minute, Caleb helped Hanna lift herself off him, then he quickly picked all their clothes from the floor before heading to the master bedroom with his pregnant wife. They put something back on before slipping under the duvets of their bed, Caleb spooning Hanna and rubbing gentle patterns on her baby bump.

She enjoyed every moment of all of that. She still hardly believed she was actually there — she was married to Caleb since two years, they were still so disgustingly in love, Liam was growing up day by day fastly and healthy, and she even got pregnant after her surgery. It still seemed a dream to her, especially the fact that she was actually expecting her second baby, a baby girl, and that her pregnancy hadn't had any problems. The doctors had kept telling her she had around the twenty-five percent of chances to get pregnant, also telling her that as the months passed, that number went lower and lower. But yet there she was. Eight months pregnant of a healthy baby girl. Feeling her husband's hand pressed against her baby bump was making her realize that it wasn't a dream. Maybe it was a gift from God, maybe a miracle, maybe just some good luck—for once in her life—, but it didn't actually mattered what it was, it just mattered _how_ it was.

And, boy, it was _real_.

* * *

_Hanna laughed with Aria as they carried their shopping bags down the long aisle of the mall. Hanna didn't have to work that afternoon, so she came to the mall just for her own pleasure...shopping with her bestfriend. Aria shook her head and continued telling Hanna what was like living in her own house with her family now that Daniel, her one year old second child, was starting to say his first words and everything._

_"So Emma was like 'Why Danny doesn't like to play with dolls?' and Ezra tried to explain that dolls were more like a girly stuff, but she just—oh, oh, oh... Is everything okay?" Aria stopped when she saw Hanna lose her balance and put a hand on her head._

_Hanna stayed still as Aria took the two shopping bags from her and placed them on the floor._

_"Han, sweetie... What's wrong?" the brunette asked concerned._

_Hanna rubbed her hand over her forehead before quickly shaking her head and motioning a smile to her friend._

_"Sorry, I just had a dizziness. But I'm fine now." she reassured her then._

_"Are you sure? Do you want to go home, maybe?"_

_"No, no, it's okay. It already happened yesterday, once. I guess I just need more hours of sleep."_

_Aria sighed and bit her lip, not sure if it was a normal thing._

_"If it already happened yesterday, then you better go home now. It's almost closing time anyways." she shrugged then._

_Hanna rolled her eyes and tried to pick her bags from the floor, but Aria stopped her and gave her a look._

_"No way, mrs Rivers. Now I'll take you home and I'll carry your bags." she added, as the blonde sighed but evetually gave in._

_When Hanna came in her own house, inviting Aria in with her, she found a quiet living room, despite both Caleb and Liam were supposed to be home. Then, she noticed a note on the coffee table which said that Liam was asleep and her husband was under the shower. So, she just took a seat on the couch and Aria did the same._

_"I gotta say it, I'm a bit tired, indeed." Hanna sighed, rubbing her temples._

_"You have fever?"_

_"Ugh, I don't think so. I just have this feeling of tiredness and this huge desire of doing absolutely nothing, you know." Hanna muttered as an answer, taking off her shoes to lie her legs on the couch._

_Aria quickly checked her phone, but Hanna slightly nudged her into the side._

_"Could you please hand me those?" the blonde nodded toward the corner of the coffee table, where there was a jar full of candies._

_Aria raised an eyebrow at her._

_"Your son's candies? Seriously? Since when you're stealing them? They're disgustingly sweet, Han!" she said then._

_"I don't know, okay? I just want one... Right now." Hanna huffed, rubbing her eyes._

_Aria sighed as she grabbed the jar, then suddenly stopped when a thought came to her mind._

_"What's wrong with you? Can you just give me that fucking thing?" Hanna snapped then._

_Aria slowly turned to her, blinking a couple of times before asking something to her._

_"When... When is your period due?"_

_"I don't know. Now can I have the candy?"_

_"Hanna... Could you be late?"_

_"Aria, look, I'm not in the mood of talking about women stuff or any kind of stuff at all right now." Hanna shot back at her, finally taking the jar off her hands and opening it to take a candy._

_Aria sighed, staring at her as she ate a candy — or maybe two._

_"What?" the blonde raised her eyebrows at her friend._

_"Maybe... Maybe... Look, I was just thinking, you know... But, uh... Maybe you're...pregnant."_

_Hanna froze for a moment, before shaking her head and looking away._

_"You know I can't be." she mumbled then._

_Aria sighed again, reaching out to take her hand before replying._

_"That's not true. It's not like you can't be. You had a surgery for that. Now you just have a little less chances than other women, but you still can get pregnant. You still have unprotected sex with Caleb, right?"_

_"Tell me you didn't just ask that." Hanna muttered under her breath._

_"Okay, look... I'm sorry, I'm just... I'm trying to figure this out."_

_Hanna sighed as she sat up properly, placing the jar back to where it was before staring into Aria's eyes, serious._

_"Do you really think I could be?" she asked softly then._

_Aria nodded before adding something._

_"I mean, yeah. I can't be sure, though. I don't want to give you false hopes, trust me. But, I mean, your dizzinesses, the fact that you eat those shitty candies—"_

_"I threw up this morning." Hanna cut her off, and Aria slightly widened her eyes._

_"Hanna..." she murmured then._

_The blonde shook her head and looked down at her lap, not sure about what to think. Just then, a shirtless Caleb, with just a pair of jeans on, came down the stairs, grinning at the sight of his wife and her friend._

_"Hey." he greeted them, quickly approaching them._

_"Hi, Caleb." Aria smiled up at him as he gave her shoulder a squeeze._

_"Hi, babe." he said then, leaning in and giving Hanna a peck on the lips._

_His wife gave him an half smile, then Aria cleared her throat and stood up._

_"Well... I should probably go home now. Ezra and the kids are waiting for me." she murmured then._

_"How is Dan doing?" Caleb asked, grinning._

_"He's great. Emma seems to get along really well with him, thank God." Aria replied, smiling back at him._

_"That's good. Well, give them both a big kiss." he continued._

_"Sure thing. I'll see you both tomorrow." Aria concluded, quickly kissing Hanna's cheek before getting out of the house after Caleb walked her to the door._

_When he came back to the living room, he climbed on the couch next to Hanna and grabbed her legs, settling them on his lap as he smiled over at her._

_"So... Did you girls have fun?" he asked, stroking her calfs._

_"Yeah, we did." Hanna just murmured. _

_He furrowed an eyebrow, still looking at her._

_"Babe... Is there something wrong?" he asked again, resting his hands around her ankles._

_Hanna took a deep breath and decided it was best to tell him._

_"I just... There could be a chance that I'm pregnant."_

_Caleb remained silent, staring at her._

_"Yesterday I had a dizziness. This morning, after you went to work, I threw up. Earlier I had another dizziness, and then I felt like I wanted to eat all of Liam's candies. I just... I don't remember when my period is due. I stopped keeping it undercontrol a long time ago. I just don't know, Caleb."_

_A smile slowly came across Caleb's face, and Hanna rolled her eyes._

_"Don't. We've been through this before, only to find that there was no baby and even that my fucking tubes were full of shit." she muttered then._

_Caleb took one of her hands between his larger ones, keeping to smile at her._

_"True. But this time could be different." he told her gently._

_"Or not."_

_"Yeah. But, you know... It's been a year since your surgery. The doctor told us—"_

_"Doctors say a lot of bullshit, Caleb." she snapped, cutting him off._

_He sighed, knowing she was just trying not to illude herself._

_"Okay, well... Look... I'm the happiest man of the world, Hanna. I swear I am. So, look, if you're really pregnant, of course it'd be awesome. It'd be fantastic, you know that. But if you're not, well, this smile on my face still won't go away, because you and Liam are this smile. We have nothing to lose here. Right?" he said then._

_Hanna couldn't help but finally relax into a smile at those words._

_"Right." she nodded then._

_"Good. But this time, we won't wait a few weeks to see if your period comes back or not. How about we just find out now?" he suggested._

_Hanna pursed her lips. He was right. There was no point in waiting. It was best to know then. She nodded quickly._

_"I should have some tests in the bathroom." she said then._

_He nodded again before leaning in and cupping her cheek, merging her lips with his in a slow and gentle kiss._

_"I love you, okay? Always." he whispered then._

_"I love you more." she smiled._

_After finding and taking five different pregnancy tests, Hanna was now engulfed into Caleb's arms as he leaned by the bathroom wall. Her head was buried into his chest as his eyes wandered across the room, stopping on the five sticks placed on the bathroom counter, too far from him to make him have a peek of whatever sign should appear. He gently cradled her into his arms, playing with her hair as they waited for the alarm on his phone to go off. He slipped his hands on the back pockets of her jeans and squeezed her ass lightly, kissing her forehead as she glanced up at him. Just then, the phone started ringing, and Hanna buried her face back into Caleb's chest._

_"I can't do this. It hurts." she whined._

_He sighed, running his hands up and down her back._

_"Do you want me to do it?" he whispered into her ear, looking back at the sticks._

_She didn't reply, so he lifted her chin with his pointer finger and forced her to make eye-contact with him._

_"Babe... We have nothing to lose, remember. I'm sure you can do this, but if you don't feel like doing it, I'll just do it for you." he told her earnestly._

_"I'll do it. But can you come over there with me?" she pleaded._

_He smiled and nodded, and as she started walking toward the bathroom counter, he put his hands on her shoulder from behind, following her. She took a deep breath and finally looked down, scared and excited at the same time. Caleb looked from behind her shoulder, trying to understand, but before he could figure anything out she just turned to him and threw herself against his body, crying. He was confused, he just hugged her back and held her the tightest he could, not looking at the sticks. Then, she suddenly lifted her head and looked up at him with her beautiful blue eyes full of tears._

_"Caleb, they're... T-They're all...p-positive." she stuttered._

_He took her head between his hands and looked straight into her eyes... Had he heard correctly?_

_"Positive? They're positive? All of them?" he asked, widening his eyes as he felt his heart pound harder against his chest._

_She nodded, as a comforting smile appeared on her tear-strained face._

_"I'm pregnant, babe. We're having another baby." she mumbled, taking his face between her hands as well._

_Caleb hadn't even realized he had started crying too, clearly because of joy, just like her. He just kissed her, hard and gently at the same time, as she jumped into his arms and he lifted her from the floor._

_"We're having another baby!" he repeated against her lips._

_She kept kissing him until she had to pull away for air, then she just stayed there, into his arms, both crying their happiness out._

_"Thanks, God." he breathed out at some point, before kissing the side of Hanna's head._

* * *

"What are you thinking about?" Caleb asked Hanna softly, nuzzling his nose through the back of her hair and rubbing her bump, feeling her mind somewhere else.

Hanna smiled as she began playing with his wedding ring, as she often did.

"Just about how much happy I am." she whispered.

Caleb smiled and kissed the back of her neck.

"You are?" he asked then.

Hanna slowly turned her body on the mattress, lying on her back and smiling up at him.

"I am." she confirmed.

He smiled back at her before leaning in and kiss her lips softly, his hand still firmly pressed against her baby bump. Then, he just stayed there, staring down at her as he played with a loose strand of her hair with his free hand.

"I just wish my mom was here." she sighed then.

Caleb bit his lip at that.

"I know, babe." he whispered then.

"She didn't have the chance to see us getting married, when she wanted to be there like anything else in the world. And now she won't have the chance to see her." Hanna continued, looking down at her belly.

"Well... It sucks that our daughter won't get to know the wonderful person her grandmother was, but I swear we'll tell her about the amazing grandma Ash, the most amazing grandma ever. And, babe, you know your mom was there with us the day of our wedding, and she'll see our daughter too. She'll look after her just like she looks after Liam and us. You know that."

Hanna smiled a little, reaching out to stroke Caleb's cheek.

"Yeah. You're right. You're always right." she whispered then.

He chuckled, briefly turning his head to press a kiss against the palm of her hand.

"Look at us. It all started in a mall, we were just two young people looking for a bit of fun...and look where we got now." he grinned then, shaking his head at her jokingly.

"I'll never thank Aria enough for taking me with her to that freaking store that day."

"Me neither." he laughed, before kissing her again...

Over and over again.

* * *

**A/N: Hi, you beautiful people :) I'm finally on Christmas holidays and I'm so happy I could finally post this —FREAKING 5000+ WORDS!— epilogue :D I really hope you enjoyed it! I had in mind since the very beginning that Hanna would have some trouble to get pregnant again, but I had in mind since the very beginning that, in the end, she would get pregnant of a baby Rivers girl too ;) I hope you're happy about that but I kind of have a feeling you are :) They fought to be able to have another baby, and their love won this battle too :D So? Thoughts? Let me know, of course :) By the way, I'm really really happy that you liked the hospital scene and the wedding from last chapter :D But I also saw that many of you guys asked if I have in mind to write other Haleb stories once GoW will be over too. Well, I obviously want to, and I already have a few ideas, so... I'd say yes, lol :P For now, though, I'm not planning to do another sequel to this specific story, but never say never. Remember that, anyways, I'm gonna publish an extra chapter soon before I end this story for good ;) I thought it would be nice to make another little time jump and make the baby girl a part of this story as well :D A special thanks to the guest who wrote me that long, sweet and beautiful review, I appreciated it a lot :) Yes, also when I think back to "The Mall" I think it seems a really different story from what this one has become, but I'd say it's a good thing. Hanna and Caleb's characters have grown a lot through the two ffs, and so has their love :) Back then, they were young and a little careless too, while here we can see them adults and responsible...also married and with children :) Like you said, their characters have definitely developed ;) So, guys... What else can I say? Just remember that there's still an extra chapter of this story to be published, and GoW is not over yet, at all ;) Then we'll see, my intention is to keep writing... I will always try to find the time to do that between my personal stuff and everything :) So... Thank you so much to each one of you, as always, for the amazing support you keep showing me and everything... I'm never gonna stop telling you, it really means a lot. That's all for now! I hope you guys will leave me a review, I'm curious to find out your feelings after reading this :) I'm gonna go back to finish writing the new chapter of GoW —I'll update as soon as I can!— and start working on this extra chapter, hoping you're happy about the idea ;) Love you all, thank you so much! xx -Atramea.**


	33. Chapter 33

**_*Bonus chapter*_**

"Caleb!" Hanna exclaimed, entering the kitchen.

"What?" he asked, not lifting his gaze from the pot he had on the stoves.

"The chicken! Is it ready?"

"No, it's not. It's in the oven, but I think there's still around an hour left."

"What? An hour? Everyone will be here soon!" she widened her eyes.

Caleb sighed lightly, finally making eye-contact with his wife.

"Well, they'll wait. Plus, we're not starting the dinner with the chicken. There are other things to eat first. Don't freak out, alright?" he replied calmly.

Hanna rolled her eyes. They were hosting the New Year's eve at their place, with some friends and relatives. It was the first time that they were doing that, and she was very worried about everything. Maybe it was also due to the fact that she had given birth to their daughter just two months earlier, though.

"Yeah, well... I don't know. The dinner's not ready yet, I still need to finish cleaning up, and _your_ son doesn't take his eyes away from that damn gameboy or whatever it is that Ezra and Aria gave him for Christmas. How can I _not_ freak out?" she sighed, rubbing her hand over her forehead.

"Hanna... Relax." he told her, before focusing back on the stoves.

"Well, at least Crystal is sleeping—"

Hanna couldn't even finish her statement that she heard a cry coming from the little radio connected to the nursery where two months old Crystal was sleeping — at least until then. Hanna let out a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying not to break down. Caleb sighed before saying something.

"Just... Keep an eye on the stoves. I'll take care of her, okay?"

"She needs to be fed, so I guess you can't do that. Fuck." she muttered as she turned on her heels.

Caleb sighed again, turning off the radio not to hear his daughter keep crying. Though, he distinctly heard Hanna shout at Liam to drop his videogame, so he called him.

"Liam! Come over here!"

His son entered the kitchen, his eyes still stuck to the display of his videogame. Caleb shook his head and put the spoon he was using down, turning to Liam and placing his hands on his hips.

"Little man, how many times do I have to tell you that you have to listen to what mommy and I tell you?" he reproached him.

Liam lifted his gaze and looked at his dad.

"Now, put that away." Caleb told him then.

"But, daddy—"

"Liam, just do it." Caleb cut him off.

When he saw the kid's disappointment, though, he couldn't help but loosen up a little.

"Look, I promise that if you put it away now, tomorrow we'll do three levels together. How does it sound?" he proposed then, going on his knees in front of his son.

The kid's face lit up at that.

"Really?" Liam asked, smiling.

"You have daddy's word. Has daddy ever lied to you?"

Liam shook his head.

"So?" Caleb raised an eyebrow at him.

"Three levels?"

"Three levels." Caleb confirmed.

Liam then smiled again, turning off and then handing his game to his daddy, who shoved it in the pocket of his jeans.

"See? You're a good kid when you want." Caleb grinned then, spreading his arms toward his son.

Liam smiled and walked closer to his daddy until he could hug him.

"Thank you, daddy. I love you." the kid said then.

Caleb laughed slightly as he returned his son's hug.

"I love you too, little man." he whispered then, kissing his head before picking him up.

He settled the kid on the kitchen counter, then he went back to cook.

"What are you doing, daddy?" Liam asked, looking curiously at the stoves.

"I'm cooking. You know, Ezra, Aria, Emma, Danny, auntie Jessie and a couple of mommy's friends are coming over for dinner tonight." Caleb explained him.

"Because the New Year is coming?"

"Exactly."

"Daddy, can I stay up to see the New Year coming?"

Caleb chuckled before replying.

"Well, the New Year comes really late, little man. I don't think you'll manage to stay awake until then."

"But can I try?"

"Okay." Caleb grinned then.

He returned to cook, but Liam interrupted him again.

"Daddy, can I help you cooking?"

Caleb couldn't help but smile again at him. He nodded, handing him the spoon.

"Alright... Blend the soup, but slowly. If we burn it, mommy's gonna yell at us. And we don't want that to happen, right?" he instructed the kid, who shook his head and obliged.

Caleb smiled looking his son do exactly what he had been told to, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration as he moved the spoon and stared down at the soup. However, soon he got bored and gave the spoon back to his daddy, who restarted cooking.

At some point, Liam looked over to the kitchen doorframe and spotted his mommy carrying his little sister, so a huge smile crossed his face.

"Mommy and Crissy here!" he squealed then.

At that, Caleb quickly turned his head around and smiled widely at the sight of his wife with their little daughter, who was apparently wide awake. Hanna slowly approached her men, smiling, and when she was close enough, Caleb bent down slightly to tickle Crystal's little foot.

"Hey, little princess." he cooed at her, looking deeply into her ocean blue eyes.

"Hey, little princess." Liam echoed his daddy, repeating his gesture.

Crystal half-yawned, stretching her little legs and lifting her little arms as she babbled something. Caleb grinned at her and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"How did you manage to part him from that damn thing?" Hanna whispered to Caleb, nodding toward Liam, who was still busy to make verses and faces to his little sister.

He grinned at her, shrugging slightly.

"It's a secret between men." he added then.

Hanna smiled at him.

"How can I not love you then?" she commented then, giving him a sweet kiss on the lips.

"Impossible."

He stole her another kiss before pulling away for good, smiling when he saw Liam and Crystal basically smiling at each other.

"Has she eaten?" he asked then, carefully stroking his daughter's little cheek.

"Yep. She was rather hungry. Is it true, little angel?" Hanna cooed down at the baby into her arms.

"Come here to daddy, beauty." Caleb said then, taking Crystal from Hanna, who gladly allowed him to. "Hi, daddy's little princess." he whispered then, kissing her lips tenderly.

The little baby attempted a smile as she reached out and put both of her little hands on Caleb's face, and he laughed. Hanna smiled widely seeing their interaction, then Liam tugged at her shirt.

"What is it, little man?" she smiled down at him.

"Mommy, I cook with daddy."

"That's amazing, sweetie! Do you like cooking?"

"Yeah, I'll be a cook when I'm big." he stated then.

Hanna raised an eyebrow at him.

"Didn't you say you were gonna be a football player?" she asked then, stroking his hair.

Liam looked a little caught off guard. He shrugged and scratched his head. In that moment, Hanna thought, he looked exactly like Caleb.

"I have to decide." the kid replied then.

Hanna laughed as she leaned forward and placed a kiss on her son's forehead.

"You have time." she assured him then.

"And that reminds me that I have to finish cooking." Caleb muttered, printing a big sloppy kiss on Crystal's cheek before giving her back to Hanna.

She took the baby back into her arms and gently turned her around, placing her little cheek against her own shoulder and bouncing her slightly as she smiled down at Liam.

"Help daddy, little man, okay?" she told him.

Liam nodded and restarted blending the soup. Caleb turned to Hanna and leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

"We got this, don't worry. It's gonna be a perfect night." he reassured her, stroking her arm.

"I know, babe." she smiled.

Then, the doorbell rang and Liam widened his eyes excitedly.

"I go open!" he announced.

"Wait." Caleb warned him before carefully picking him up from the counter and placing him on the floor.

The second his little feet touched the ground, Liam raced to the front door to open it, Hanna following behind him, carrying Crystal with her.

"Hi, monkey." Laura smiled down at Liam.

"Hi." the kid replied with a goofy smile.

Liam let her in and closed the door before running back to the kitchen with Caleb. He was probably hoping to find Aria, Ezra and their kids so he could play, but it was only his mommy's collegue.

"Hi!" Laura smiled widely, approaching Hanna and Crystal.

She immediately bent down slightly, so she could have a better look of the baby's face.

"Hey, baby... Look how gorgeous you are!" she cooed then, gently stroking her cheek.

Crystal made a small smile at her, and Laura's face lit up.

"Oh my God, she's too cute!" she exclaimed then.

"True." Hanna smiled, looking down at the marvel she and Caleb had created.

"How are you doing, love?" Laura said then, after kissing Hanna on the cheek.

"Really good, thanks. So Trevor didn't make it for tonight, huh?"

"He tried his best, but work's work. And being a fireman is such a responsability." Laura smiled.

Trevor was Laura's husband. They got married around six months earlier.

"You're right. Well... C'mon, have a seat." Hanna continued, leading Laura to the couch.

They both took a seat and Hanna settled Crystal comfortable into her arms.

"Where's Caleb?" Laura asked then.

"He's in the kitchen, cooking with Liam." Hanna replied, smiling as she replayed in her head the scene of Liam announcing he would become a cook.

"Right. So... What about you and Caleb?"

Hanna furrowed an eyebrow.

"What about me and Caleb?" she repeated.

"Yeah, I mean... Is everything okay between the two of you?"

Hanna moved Crystal from one arm to the other with the experience only a mom could have as she replied.

"Sure. Why this question?"

"You know, just wondering." Laura shrugged.

Hanna glared at her.

"Laura... What's going on?" she asked then, knowing she was after something.

"I mean, now that you have a newborn again..."

"Well, with Liam it was different. It wasn't actually wanted, it just...happened. Caleb and I were younger and just living together... And I also had depression post-partum. With her, well, it wasn't planned either, but we definitely wanted her. They both were a surprise, actually, but now Caleb and I are married and we've been through a lot since then. We're definitely in a good place now, and it's easier given we've already been through this once."

"Then... Kids change a relationship, right?"

"How can they not do that? What are you trying to tell me?" Hanna laughed.

Laura sighed, then Hanna raised an eyebrow at her.

"Laura, are you pregnant?" she finally asked.

"No. No, God, no... But..."

"But?"

"But Trevor wants a kid. And I just don't know if I'm ready yet."

"Oh, sweetie... Well, it's okay if you want to wait a bit. Just don't believe all of those stories about marriage and kids killing love, though. They're bullshit. And most of all, it's not true that after having children you stop having sex. Like, not true at all." Hanna smirked.

"Hanna!" Laura laughed, rolling her eyes.

"What? If your question is: 'do you and Caleb still have sex?', my answer is 'yes, we do, we have even more sex than before.'."

"_More than before_? What the hell?"

Hanna laughed loudly at that.

"No, seriously... The only thing about having sex after having children is to make sure not to be walked on by them." she pointed out then, stroking Crystal's back soothingly.

"Please don't tell me that—" Laura began, but Hanna cut her off.

"It only happened once, around a year ago, I think. It was like three in the morning, we were in the bedroom. We had the door closed, of course. Liam had never opened it and just bursted into the room before then. Usually, he just starts whining from his room, then either Caleb or I go to check on him. But that time... I don't know, neither I nor Caleb heard him. And then he just entered. God, I didn't even notice he had gotten in!"

"What?" Laura laughed.

"I guess I was too busy. However, thank God Caleb did, so he just...abruptly pushed me off him and quickly pulled his pants up. It was then that I saw my son standing on the doorframe, so I just pulled the blanket up around my body. It was _really_ embarassing."

"Oh, God! And then what?"

"Then Caleb went to him and talked to him like everything was normal, as I tried to put something on. He told him that he and his mommy were..._playing_, that he was giving me a _piggyback_. Jesus Christ, I hope he believed him. I really didn't mean to traumatize my son just because of a night of sex with my husband. However, he ended up staying the night with us, playing piggyback with Caleb. It was pretty awkward, yup. I honestly hope that Liam forgot everything about that night."

"God, Hanna!" Laura kept laughing.

Hanna laughed slightly with her until she looked down and noticed Crystal had fallen asleep. She smiled sweetly at that sight, then bent down and placed a lovingly kiss on the baby's forehead.

"Okay, I'll just tuck her in. Be right back." she whispered to Laura before getting up and moving to the baby's room.

When she got back, just as she plopped down on the couch, the doorbell rang again. But before she could get up, Liam was already racing to the door, once again, eager to see Aria and Ezra's kids. And this time, he finally found them in front of him.

"Hey, pal!" Ezra laughed, messing Liam's hair.

Six year old Emma was standing beside him, holding his hand, while Aria was carrying one year old Dan.

"Hi, guys!" Aria piped in as Liam politely closed the door behind the guests' back.

"Ezra, daddy and I cooking!" Liam exclaimed.

"Awesome! Can I come?" Ezra asked in reply.

Liam nodded excitedly and Emma said she wanted to come too, but when the two started following Liam to the kitchen, Dan began whining, so Ezra had to take him from Aria and carry him with them as well. Aria then greeted Hanna and Laura and sat on the couch with them.

"Where's my sweetheart?" she pouted at Hanna.

Hanna rolled her eyes, lazily running a hand through her own hair.

"She just fell asleep." she replied then.

"Let's hope she'll wake up soon." Aria snorted as Hanna widened her eyes at her deadly.

"I'm sorry, what?" she added then, as Laura chuckled.

"C'mon, Han, it's just that you and Caleb make such adorable babies that they're wasted when they're just asleep in another room." her collegue said then.

"That's what I meant." Aria chuckled.

"Yeah, whatever. Think about your own children." Hanna pulled her tongue out at her.

"Yeah, well... They just left me to go see your husband cooking. Is that a so great view?" Aria continued.

"Hell yeah, my husband's pretty hot as a cook. Well, he's always hot, but when he cooks... I don't know, he's just so sexy." Hanna sighed happily.

"Who is sexy?" Caleb smirked as he came into the living room with Ezra, Liam, Emma and Dan following behind.

"You, of course." Hanna smirked as Caleb sat on the couch next to her and put an arm around her before pressing a peck against her lips.

"Where's the little princess?" he asked then.

"She fell asleep, she's in her room." Hanna shrugged, smiling.

"Good." Caleb commented as Liam climbed on Hanna's lap.

"Hi, little man!" she cooed down at him as he cuddled close to her.

"Mommy." Liam mumbled, wrapping his arms around her neck as she kissed his head.

"Hey, bunny." Aria said as she picked up Dan who had lifted his arms in her direction as well.

The doorbell rang once again, so Caleb got up since Liam was too comfortable cuddled up to his mommy. He opened the door and Jess came in, holding a bottle of expensive champagne.

"Hey, bro." she smiled before hugging and kissing Caleb on the cheek.

He took the bottle from her, thanked her and closed the door behind her back as she greeted everyone before bending down toward Liam.

"Hi, sweetie! Will you give auntie Jessie a kiss?" she asked him softly, tapping one of her fingers on her own cheek.

Liam nodded shortly before printing a kiss on his auntie's cheek, then he immediately cuddled back up against Hanna's chest.

"What's wrong, little man? You tired?" Hanna asked softly running a hand through her son's hair, surprised not to see Liam playing with Emma and Dan with his new toys.

"Or you're just acting grouchy 'cause you want all of mommy's cuddles for you, huh?" Caleb added as he sat back down next to his wife and son.

Liam gave him a little grin before twisting into Hanna's arms to hide his guilty face. Caleb chuckled and tickled his sides slightly before kissing his head.

"Alright, now that we're all here, you can start taking a seat at the table. Dinner's coming up." he announced then, standing up.

All of the guests got up from their seats and began approaching the table. Hanna got up too, carrying Liam with her, and Caleb smiled at her.

"Go sit down you too. I'll bring everything." he whispered then, gently squeezing her shoulder.

"You're the best." Hanna smiled back at him before walking to the table with Liam.

Caleb then, before heading to the kitchen, couldn't help but go to Crystal's room first. He quietly opened the door and walked inside until he was standing in front of the little girl's crib. He bent down slightly and reached out to stroke her cheek softly, then he moved it down to her neck, checking if she was sweaty or anything. She felt neither hot nor cold and she was still peacefully sleeping, so Caleb just smiled seeing everything looked okay. He adjusted her blanket and placed a lovingly kiss on her forehead before finally straightening himself up, sighing happily at the sight of his precious little daughter.

Crystal Ashley Rivers.

Hanna and Caleb had named her 'Crystal' because she looked so tiny and fragile when she was born, but she was absolutely wonderful, just like a crystal. And they had obviously chosen to honour her grandma, giving the little girl 'Ashley' as her middle name.

Caleb thought that he had become a father to her because life had decided to give him a gift. Because sometimes life gives gifts without a reason, even if you don't even do anything to deserve them. They just come. Crystal was a gift from life, but she was also so much more. A miracle. Because of the way she came, without being expected from anyone, without anyone had thought about her. She just came, fighting to be there. And he and Hanna had fought with her, for her. She and Liam were so much more than he could have asked his life for. Becoming parents means choosing to give your own heart another body where to beat in. And yes, Caleb's heart was beating in Crystal's and Liam's bodies too. And he couldn't be prouder of that.

Caleb slowly and silently walked out of the room, closing the door quietly before heading back to the kitchen. He took the pot with the hot soup and brought it to the living room where everyone was waiting for him —mostly for the food, actually—, smiling and placing it at the center of the table.

"That's the soup Liam and I cooked. We hope you're gonna like it." he announced then, winking down at Liam, still stuck on Hanna's lap.

"I cooked soup with daddy!" Liam happily confirmed, receiving big smiles from everyone.

Caleb laughed, then filled everyone's dishes before filling his own, and finally took a seat next to Hanna, who immediately turned to him and smiled.

"I'm so happy to have a family of excellent cooks." she whispered to him, searching for his hand.

He grinned and took her hand in his.

"Is it good? You like it?" he asked as he interlaced her fingers with his.

"It's perfect."

Caleb furrowed an eyebrow.

"Are we talking about the soup or what?" he asked then.

She just shrugged before leaning in and giving his lips a quick kiss.

"I went to check on Crystal, by the way." he said then.

"Is she okay?" Hanna asked.

"She is." Caleb smiled before pressing another kiss to her lips.

"Caleb, seriously, this is really good." Laura commented.

Caleb turned to her and gave her a thankful smile as everyone agreed with Laura, then he nudged Liam slightly.

"Have you heard, little man? Everyone likes our soup!" he told him.

"Yay!" Liam squealed, raising his fists in the air.

Emma and Dan repeated his gesture and everyone around the table laughed. Children always had the power to make everything better.

* * *

Two hours later, after eating soup, chicken, cake and everything, and after playing three intense bingo matches, Liam had fallen asleep on Hanna's lap, Emma on Ezra's lap and Dan on Aria's. With all the kids out, the night had turned into a more relaxing one. Everyone was sitting on the couch with their stomach full. The Fitzs' family was all cuddled up close, Ezra's arm around Aria who was holding a sleeping Dan, and his free one stroking an asleep Emma's back soothingly. Laura and Jess were sitting on the two sofas, while Hanna was sitting on Caleb's lap —they had tucked Liam in his bed—. Sure, life with children was less young, wild and free, and the New Year's Eve had turned out into a _'we'll wait until midnight and then finally we'll all go to sleep'_, but Caleb and Hanna liked it. They liked to just enjoy some quiet family time at home with just a few friends, without dancing and screaming and drinking. It was fine. They were a family by now, they were no longer kids. But, hey, they were _happy_.

So they were there, waiting midnight, watching some lame tv show just to see what time was on the screen, so that they didn't have to check the time on their watches every two minutes. When it was fifty-nine past eleven, the TV started counting down, so Jess stood up and took the bottle of champagne she had brought earlier in order to open it when it was midnight 'o clock. Suddenly, Liam bursted into the living room, barefoot and dressed in his Mickey Mouse pajamas.

"Daddy! The New Year has come?" he asked, worried he hadn't been in time.

Caleb smirked and shook his head, so the kid climed onto Hanna's lap and started looking at the TV, counting down along with it. Hanna kissed her son's head as Caleb tightened his grasp around her waist.

"Liam! Come over here, let's uncork the bottle together at midnight!" Jess said when the countdown came to ten.

Liam ran to his auntie with a smile on his face.

_Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one..._

"Happy New Year!" Liam exclaimed, repeating what he had just heard from the TV.

Jess uncorked the bottle as Ezra and Aria shared a peck, then Caleb placed a tender kiss on Hanna's cheek, who was just smiling and staring at her son, glad that he looked so happy.

"Happy New Year, babe... Another year of us." Caleb whispered then, rubbing his nose against the side of her face.

Hanna turned to him and smiled widely.

"Happy New Year." she whispered, cupping his face.

Then, she leaned in and kissed his lips softly, but Caleb pulled her even closer and deepened the kiss, wanting their first kiss of the year to be long, passionate and full of love. He focused on her lips first, closing them between his ones and sucking them gently, then he opened his mouth and pulled his tongue in between them, parting them and entering her mouth, enjoying her sweet taste as she finally allowed her own tongue to do the same. Hanna lifted her hands and brought them through his hair, gripping his locks lightly as she turned her head to the side to find a new angle.

"Whoa, don't forget to breathe!" Laura joked watching the lovely exchange between the pair.

Hanna pulled away and turned to Laura to made a face at her, then Liam came to her feet, his little arms extended toward her, as if he wanted to be picked up.

"I wanna kiss too." he whined.

Hanna laughed and picked him up before printing a peck on his lips.

"Happy New Year, my handsome little man." she smiled then.

"Happy New Year, mommy." Liam smiled back.

Caleb leaned forward and pulled Liam closer to place a big kiss on his forehead.

"Happy New Year, daddy's little man." he whispered then.

"Happy New Year, daddy." Liam smiled at him as well, before standing up on Hanna's thighs in order to be able to wrap his little arms around both his daddy and mommy.

Hanna and Caleb laughed but accepted their son's hug, returning it as everyone looked at them smiling.

"Daddy and mommy love you so much, little man." Caleb whispered then.

"You guys are so cute, but I kinda feel like someone's missing." Aria commented then, as Jess filled her a glass of champagne.

Right then, Crystal started whining. Everyone laughed at that, then Caleb patted Hanna's thigh, so she lifted herself off his lap taking Liam with her. He got up and walked to his daughter's room, smiling when he finally took sight of her. He picked her from the crib and held her closer to his chest, cradling her gently as he kissed her head.

"Happy New Year, baby girl... You woke up because you wanna cuddle with mommy, daddy and brother, isn't that true?" he whispered then.

Crystal slowly calmed down against her daddy's chest but stayed awake, so Caleb brought her to the living room.

"We hug again with Crissy!" Liam said excitedly, pointing to his little sister.

Hanna laughed slightly and picked him up, walking to Caleb and Crystal, and when they finally were close enough, they closed themselves in one big family hug, as Jess took a picture of them.

"Now we're all together." Hanna whispered then, smiling into the hug.

It looked like a good start of year.

* * *

At three am, only Caleb, Hanna, Jess and Laura were left in the living room. Well, _and_ Crystal.

Ezra, Aria and their kids had gone home a little after midinight, taking advantage of the moment to say goodbye to the Rivers' littlest one too, since their children were both out like a light. Liam had fallen asleep shortly after, just happy to having been awake at midnight. Crystal, however, hadn't fallen back asleep since then. She was now into Jess' arms as she and Laura were laughing and making weird faces at her. Caleb and Hanna were simply cuddled up on the couch watching them, Hanna curled up into Caleb's side with her legs stretched over his lap as he circled her shoulders with one arm and rubbed her legs with the other.

"Seeing her truly makes me want a kid." Laura sighed happily as she stared into Crystal's ocean blue eyes.

"Of course it does. She's adorable. But, you know, dealing with diapers, tantrums and everything? I don't really know." Jess remarked.

Caleb chuckled.

"And with sleepless nights? You know, she's not that adorable when she's screaming her lungs out at half past four in the morning." he commented then.

"Oh, c'mon, babe... She's always adorable. To be completely honest, the awful thing is that both of the Rivers kids came out with the adorable, of course, but _huge_ head of their daddy. It wasn't nice at all when they had to..._get out_." Hanna wrinkled her nose up at the memory.

Caleb laughed loudly before printing a kiss on her temple.

"Well, they both came out very cute, so we shouldn't complain." he said then.

"Easy for you to say, they didn't pass through your freaking—" Hanna began before being cut off.

"Alright, alright, you're right." Caleb chuckled.

Jess and Laura laughed at that.

"You guys are _so_ married." Jess chuckled, shaking her head.

"Indeed." Hanna grinned, happily resting her head against Caleb's chest.

"Speaking of that, aren't we cockblocking you being here?" Laura joked, raising an eyebrow.

Caleb furrowed an eyebrow at her as Hanna giggled.

"Don't play dumb, Rivers. I know how active is your sex life. Your wife is my friend, remember?" Laura explained then, seeing his reaction.

Caleb smirked down at Hanna, shaking his head, then looked back at Laura.

"Well, as much as you're right, because yes, my sex life is _very_ active, you also have to know that the first rule of this house says that until all the pumpkins are not asleep, no sex is allowed under this roof. So, you know, if the little girl in there doesn't fall asleep, well..." he shrugged then, nodding toward Crystal, still into Jess' arms.

"You heard, gorgeous? Daddy wants you to fall asleep so he can properly celebrate the New Year with mommy." Laura then cooed at the baby, tickling her little foot.

"That's not _exactly_ what I said." Caleb rolled his eyes.

"Well, that's pretty much what you meant, brother. That's why I'm gonna steal her for tonight so you and Hanna can do whatever you want." Jess joked, grinning down at the baby.

"Oh, yeah? And what will you do when she wants the breast?" Caleb teased.

"Shut up, just admit that you could resist not even half a day without your daughter." Jess poked her tongue at Caleb.

"Jess is right, babe. She has so wrapped you around her little finger already." Hanna smirked up at him.

"Whatever." he rolled his eyes.

The three women laughed, then Jess stood up with Crystal in her arms.

"Anyway, it's getting really late. I should probably go." she announced then.

"Ooh... Is your toy-boy done at work?" Caleb teased, knowing his sister was seeing a guy.

"You're lucky my arms are busy to hold your daughter." Jess muttered.

Hanna laughed and got up to take Crystal from Jess, then Laura got up too.

"I should go too. Anyway, it was a nice night. Thank you, guys." she said then, smiling.

Caleb got up and smiled, giving both the girls a hug, then he took Crystal from Hanna to allow her to do the same.

"Thank you for coming. We had a great time." Hanna thanked then.

"We did too." Jess agreed, approaching Caleb to give one last kiss to Crystal's little cheek.

Laura did the same, then the pair left together the Rivers' household.

* * *

"Jess was right." Caleb whispered later, when he and Hanna were lying in their bed with a still awake Crystal between them.

He was caressing his daughter's face while she stared up at him, and when she reached out for his face he pretended to eat her little hand, which caused the baby to make something close to a smile.

"I know she was." Hanna replied, stroking Crystal's cheek too.

Caleb rolled on his side and smiled at his wife.

"Seems like it was yesterday when Liam was this little too." he commented.

"Yeah... They grow up so fastly. Soon she's gonna run all around the house too." she sighed, as Crystal wrapped her little hand around one of her mommy's fingers.

"And mommy's gonna take you shopping at the mall with her." Caleb cooed down at the baby.

Hanna giggled as she watched Crystal slowly closing her eyes as Caleb kept gently stroking her cheek.

"There you go, little princess..." he whispered quietly.

And after a couple of minutes, Crystal was totally out. Hanna smiled and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, then Caleb did the same before making eye-contact with his wife.

"Can we let her sleep here with us tonight?" he asked in a whisper.

Hanna smiled and reached out to cup his face.

"Of course... You're _so_ crazy about her." she whispered then, swirling her thumb over his cheek.

Caleb smirked and shrugged, looking down again at his precious little daughter.

"I can't help it. She's perfect." he murmured.

Hanna smiled again. She had always loved Caleb as a daddy, and now that they also had a little girl, it was like she could see another sparkle into his eyes. Caleb was the best daddy of the world, and she got the confirmation every single day, watching him play with Liam or cuddle with Crystal.

While she was lost in those thoughts, she heard little footsteps from the doorway, then Liam quietly entered the bedroom.

"Little man." she whispered at her son, smiling at him.

"Mommy!" Liam grinned.

"Quiet, little man... Crissy's sleeping." Caleb warned.

Liam walked to the bed, then Hanna picked him up and looked at him questioningly, even though she was already aware of what he was up to.

"Can I sleep here with you, daddy and Crissy?" Liam asked then, with his best puppy eyes.

Hanna giggled and turned to Caleb, who winked at him.

"Alright, little man, but just because today's a special day since it's the first day of the year. Tomorrow, as always, you're gonna sleep in your room because you're a big boy by now... Right?" Caleb said then.

Liam smiled and nodded excitedly, then cuddled closer to Hanna. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his head as Caleb carefully set Crystal against his chest so he could came closer to his wife and son.

* * *

"Caleb?" Hanna whispered half an hour later.

"Hmm?" he replied from behind her.

"Are you awake?"

"Yeah."

"Look at him."

Caleb slightly lifted his head over Hanna's shoulder and caught a glimpse of a sleeping Liam, and he automatically smiled.

"He's perfect." he commented then, repeating what he had told about Crystal not so long earlier.

"Yup." Hanna confirmed, gently stroking her son's locks.

Caleb, then, placed a sweet kiss against Hanna's temple.

"I'm so happy about the family we are... I love you so much." he whispered then.

Hanna turned her neck slightly to peck his lips and then gave him the brightest of her smiles.

"I love you so much too." she replied then.

And that's how they fell asleep on the first day of their New Year, in a bed full of children and love.

_Just another year of their life together._

* * *

**A/N: So, this is the end :( Just like everytime one of my stories comes to an end, I have a bitterness feeling inside. I'm sad it's over, clearly, but I'm also happy of having carried it to its end, always with your support, and I'm proud of how the story eventually came out too. It was an amazing ride, I enjoyed writing every single chapter and I hope you enjoyed reading them as well. This fic was born as a sequel, but it became so much more, chapter by chapter. I hope you all liked how Hanna and Caleb's characters developed throughout both the two stories, as always I tried my best to portray them in character even though this is an AU. I also want to apologize for the lack of updates throughout these holidays, but as you can guess, holidays are even more hectic than normal days :P But I'm happy we have recently welcomed new Haleb writers on this site who write such good stories, so I hope you enjoyed their company during these days ;) I also hope you had a merry Christmas and an amazing start of year :) And I'm really happy about the reviews you left to the epilogue, I'm glad you appreciated that Hanna was pregnant with her second little one and that you liked the flashback :) This bonus chapter —which is also my longest chapter ever :P— involving the little girl as well was kind of my little Christmas gift for you all to thank you for the way you keep finding some time to read my stories and write a few words for them, so I just hope it was as good as you thought! When I read things like that my story is a joy to read, that you'll read anything I write and that I should never stop writing Haleb, it seriously moves something inside me. So, well, of course I'll keep writing —I have a new idea for a story in my head, and I'm pretty excited to let you know how GoW will develop—, hoping to find you guys still there :) Just bear with me for taking so long :P So... That's it, ****_grazie a tutti _****:) And if you write a review to tell me what you think one last time, you will give me a smile :) Love you all, have a great 2016! xx -Atramea.**


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